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/^IjW.  MORSI5TLAN  OF 
INDUSTRIAL  LOANS 
AND  INVESTMENTS 


THE 

MORRIS 

PLAN 


W-  MM 


THE   KUHN-LOEB   BUILDING,   52  WILLIAM  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

The  Sixth  Floor  is  the  home  office  of  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  and 

The  Morris  Plan  Company  of  New  York 

A 


THE  MORRIS  PLAN 
OF  INDUSTRIAL  LOANS 
AND    INVEST  M  E  N  T  S 


'  J'S  not  commercial  credit 
■^  based  primarily  upon 
money  or  property?''^  asked 
counsel  to  the  Pujo  Commit- 
tee of  the  late  J.  Pierpont 
Morgan.  And  Mr.  Morgan 
answered:  "" No  sir;  the  first 
thing  is  character." 


OWNHI)    AND    DKVKLOI'KD    BY 

INDUSTRIAL  FINANCE  CORPORATION 

52  William  Street,  New  "^'ork,  N.  Y. 


Copyright  1914    Industrial  Finan'ce  Corporation    AU  rights  rfserrrd 

Copyright  igts     Isdi'strial  Finam  k  Corporation     All  rights  resfrred 

First  edition.  December.  1014.  5.000  copies 

Second  edition.  August,  fjis.  s.ooo  copies 


^ 


I 


Officers  and  Directors 
-^|V^  of  the 

/.^    INDUSTRIAL  FINANCE  CORPORATION 

Officers 

Clark  Williams President 

Arthur  J.  Morris Vice-President  and  General  Counsel 

Raymond  Du  Pay Vice-President 

Stephen  C.  Millett Vice-President 

Charles  H.  Sabin Treasurer 

Joseph  B.  Gilder Secretary 

Fairfax  C.  Christian Assistant  Treasurer 

Theodore  M.  Stevens Assistant  Secretary 

Charles  H.  Sabin Chairman  Executive  Committee 

Herbert  L.  Satterlee Chairman  Legal  Advisory  Board 

Morris,  Garnett  &  Gotten Attorneys 

Directors 

Alabama  New  York.  (Continued) 

Robert  Jemison,  Birmingham  *Ed\vin  O.  Holter,  New  York 

„  Sam  A.  Lewisohn,  New  York 

California  j^j^^^  ^    MacArthur,  New  York 

William   H.   Workman,  Jr.                              Stephen  C.  Millett,  New  York 

Los  Angeles  *Arthur  J.   Morris,  New  York 

^'r^T  r.T.  AT^r.  *Charles  H.  Sabin,  New  York 

COLORADO  *TT7II  ,        ,^  1  TVT  17  1 

„    p    „       ,        T-.  *Willard  Straight,  New  York 
E.  S    Kassler,  Denver  ^^^^^  r    y^^^.^^^  New  York 

Gordon  Jones,  Denver  ^^^j^^^  Turnbull,  New  York 

Connecticut  *Clark  Williams,  New  York 

Louis  R.  Cheney,  Hartford  North   Carolina 
Richard    J.    Goodman,    Hartford  Julian  S.  Carr,  Durham 

Delaware  '*!  y  Penj>i§y;.>ania 

'       Coleman  du  Pont,  Wilmington'  '.  .    '■,*J(7h>'- Marile,  Jeddo 

r'c^nr-T.  ' Louis  J. "Kolb,  Philadelphia 

LiEORGIA  ••!     .;«..••.  -'^  »..   ,        .       ^         ■  ,  ^ 

Hollins  N.  Randolph,  Alt^hli''  ^  >•  -../Tfir^EssBE       ] 

W.  Woods  White,  Atlanta  J    AlFeh  amifh,  Knoxville 

. .  R.  O.  Johnston,  Memphis 

Maryland  Richard  C.  Plater,  Nashville 

Redmond  C.  Stewart,   Baltimore  Virginia 
Massachusetts  H.  T.  Campbell,  Norfolk 

Joseph  Shattuck,  Springfield  J-  H.  Cofer,  Norfolk 

»,  *Raymond  Du  Puy,  Norfolk 
Missouri  j  ^  Garnett,  Norfolk 

A.  L.  Shapleigh,  St.  Louis  H.  M.  Kerr,  Norfolk 

New  York  Fergus  Reid,  Norfolk 

Newcomb  Carlton,  New  York  T.  S.  Southgate,  Norfolk 

Preston  S.  Gotten,  New  ^'ork  District  of  Columbia 
*W.  R.  Craig,  New  York  Frank  S.  Bright,  Washington 

*Arthur  Hagen,  New  York  H.    D.  Johnson,  Washington 

*Member  Executive  Committee. 


TABLE  of  CONTENTS 

Page 

OHicers  and  Directors  ot  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation   .  4 

Brief  Statement  of  The  Morris  Plan 7 

Purposes  of  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation        .     .     .     .  12 

Foreign  Industrial   Banking  Systems 13 

Conditions  in  America 16 

The  Loanshark  Kvil 18 

Mistaken    Charity        19 

History  of  The  Morris  Plan        21 

The  Pioneer  Companies: 

Norfolk,  Va 23 

Atlanta,  Ga 25 

Baltimore,  Md 27 

W'flshington,   D.  C 29 

General  Development 30 

List  of  Companies  Operating  The  Morris  Plan     .           .           .  31 

The  Industrial   Finance  Corporation 31 

Possible   Development    Proposed   by   the   Industrial   Finance 

Corporation 35 

Industrial  Insurance 35 

Rediscounting    Arrangements 35 

Investments  in  Small  Denominations 36 

How  Companies  Are  Organized 36 

Equipment  Provided 40 

Earnings 40 

How  Loans  Are  Made      .     .     .     .•..*' 42 

Additional  Resources: 

Paid-up  ("Class  B")  Certificates  of  Iiiyestment       ...  45 

Instalment  ("Class  C")  Certificates  of  Investment           .  45 

Losses 4^ 

From  the  Borrower's  Viewpoint 49 

What  the   Borrower   Pays 51 

Features  that  Attract  the  Conservative  Investor 56 

The  Morris  Plan  Company  of  New  ^'ork 59 

Reports  and  Resolutions  of  Public  Bodies 66 

Striking  Commendations  by  the  Press 66 

Direct  Testimony 71 

Directors  of  Morris  Plan  Companies 72 


332672 


,^lt) 


THE  xMORRIS   PLAN  OF   INDUSTRIAL  LOANS 
AND  INVESTMENTS 


OURTEEN  years  ago  Arthur  J.  Morris, 
of  Norfolk,  Va.,  appreciating  tlie  lack 
of  banking  facilities  in  this  country,  for 
persons  of  moderate  means,  determined 
to  devise  a  plan  to  meet  this  economic 
need.  In  Europe  industrial  banking  had 
been  in  successful  operation  for  half  a  century.  The 
Bank  of  France  in  1913  discounted  30,041,247  loans 
amounting  to  ^4,001,410,800.  Of  these  loans  over  half 
were  for  sums  less  than  ^20.  Six  hundred  and  ninety 
People's  Banks  in  Italy  in  1908  discounted  over  2,500,- 
000  bills  of  an  aggregate  value  ot  about  $329,212,000. 
In  Germany,  in  191 2,  the  combined  business  of  the  per- 
sonal credit  societies  and  industrial  banks  and  personal 
cooperative  credit  societies  approached  $5,000,000,000. 
Mr.  Morris  availed  of  European  experience,  adapted 
certain  features  of  foreign  systems  to  existing  conditions 
in  the  United  States,  and  developed  a  plan  based  upon 
the  banking  principles  of  this  country.  The  theoretical 
plan,  having  been  perfected,  was  first  applied  in  actual 
practice  in  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  19 10,  where  a  c()mi)any  was 
formed  with  a  capital  of  $20,000.  The  success  of  this 
operation  led  to  the  organization  of  companies  to 
operate  The  Morris  Plan  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Washington, 

7 


D.  C,  Baltimore,  Md.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
Denver,  Colo.,  Columbia,  S.  C,  Charleston,  S.  C, 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  Richmond,  Va.,  Memphis,  Tenn., 
Springfield,  Mass.,  Portsmouth,  Va.,  and  more  recently 
Nashville,  Tenn.  On  October  31,  1914,  they  had 
made  49,500  loans  aggregating  ^6,100,000,  the  average 
loan  amounting  to  ^123.  A  natural  evolution  brought 
about  the  organization  of  the  Industrial  Finance  Cor- 
poration, national  in  scope,  to  undertake  the  broader 
development  of  this  system  of  industrial  finance 
throughout  the  country,  on  a  business  basis,  with 
authorized  capital  of  ^7,000,000,  of  which  ^1,500,000 
has  been  subscribed. 

The  Corporation  owns  stock  in  the  various  operating 
companies,  averaging  twenty  per  cent,  of  their  capital. 
On  its  organization  the  Corporation  became  the  owner 
of  The  Morris  Plan  and  all  copyrighted  expressions 
necessary  to  its  operation.  Its  business  is  to  assist  in 
the  organization  of,  to  install,  and  to  exercise  a  coopera- 
tive supervision  over,  the  different  companies  which 
may  be  formed  to  operate  The  Morris  Plan,  with  the 
purpose  of  preserving  the  integrity  of  the  system  for 
the  benefit  of  all.  It  sells  the  right  to  operate  The 
Morris  Plan,  charges  a  fee  for  organization  and  instal- 
lation of  companies  and  for  the  instruction  of  the  man- 
aging force  in  the  operation  of  the  plan,  and  becomes 
a  minority  stockholder  in  each  corporation  organized 
under  its  auspices. 

A  concrete  example  of  the  operation  of  The  Morris 
Plan  follows:  A  salaried  employee  faces  an  immediate 
need  for  $100  cash — due,  perhaps,  to  a  birth,  illness, 
or  death  in  his  family.  He  applies  for  a  loan  at  several 
banks  of  discount  and  is  naturally  told  by  the  officers 
of  each  that  they  are  not  engaged  in  the  small  loan 


business.  They  note  that  he  is  not  a  depositor  and 
know  full  well  that  his  financial  condition  will  j)rohahly 
not  he  improved  sufficiently  in  three  or  six  months  to 
warrant  the  i)ayment  ot  his  note  at  maturity.  This 
refusal  of  accommodation  does  not  tend  to  improve 
his  j^eace  of  mind  or  the  (juality  of  his  citizenship.  He 
cannot  borrow  at  a  savings  bank.  Usually  he  ap- 
proaches a  friend  and  enters  into  an  unbusinesslike 
arranuement,  or  he  aj^plies  to  a  "loanshark"  with  the 
inevitable  result. 

It  he  makes  his  needs  known  to  a  Morris  Plan  insti- 
tution, he  is  told  by  the  Manager  that  he  is  welcome, 
and  that  he  need  not  feel  beholden  to  the  company, 
because  it  is  its  business  to  afford  him  the  accommoda- 
tion he  seeks.  The  applicant  finds  his  good  character 
to  be  an  asset,  since  The  Morris  Plan  operates  on  the 
principle  that  "character  is  the  basis  of  credit."  He 
makes  formal  application  for  a  loan  of  )5ioo  and  secures 
two  endorsers  of  good  character  on  his  note.  When 
his  application  is  investigated,  he  is  found  to  have  a 
fixed  income,  enabling  him  to  pay  therefrom,  in  easy 
instalments,  his  obligation  when  due.  He  and  his 
endorsers  sign  a  note  for  $ioo.  He  receives  that  amount, 
less  the  legal  rate  of  interest  for  one  year.  Just  as  the 
borrower  of  ^looooo  at  a  commercial  bank  is  re(iuired 
to  maintain  a  balance  of  from  ^20,000  to  ^25,000  on 
deposit,  without  interest,  during  the  term  of  the  dis- 
count, so  the  borrower  on  The  Morris  Plan  is  required 
to  make  weekly  payments  in  the  purchase  of  a  certifi- 
cate, which  may,  at  his  option,  operate  to  licjuidate  his 
liability  to  the  company.  At  the  end  of  fifty  weeks 
these  payments  aggregate  the  amount  of  the  loan. 
His  note  tails  due  two  weeks  later  and  his  accumulated 
funds  may  be  applied  to  its  payment.     Clear  of  debt, 

9 


he  leaves  the  institution  a  self-respecting  citizen.  It 
has  become  his  bank. 

During  the  operation  he  has  realized  how  easily  he 
laid  aside  $2  a  week,  so  that  frequently  he  continues 
these  payments,  which  may  be  applied  to  the  purchase 
of  an  investment  certificate  issued  by  the  company. 
On  this  certificate,  which,  when  paid  up,  bears  interest 
at  five  per  cent.,  he  may  borrow  without  endorsement. 
By  these  operations  he  has  learned  thrift,  and  probably 
for  the  first  time  has  become  a  property  holder. 

The  variations  of  The  Morris  Plan  render  it  appli- 
cable to  almost  all  conditions.  It  results,  as  has  been 
demonstrated,  in  large  commercial  advantage  to  any 
community.  It  has  been  used  practically  as  a  collec- 
tion agent,  the  creditors  becoming  endorsers  in  effecting 
payment  of  a  debt  which  could  not  otherwise  be  met. 
It  is  of  economic  value  to  large  corporations,  the  effi- 
ciency of  whose  employees  has  been  impaired  by  the 
burden  of  debt.  It  enables  insurance  premiums,  taxes, 
and  other  fixed  requirements  to  be  met  with  ease.  It 
is  a  great  relief  to  commercial  banks,  enabling  them  to 
meet  the  needs  of  many  worthy  applicants  for  small 
loans,  by  referring  them  to  a  reputable  institution  espe- 
cially designed  for  the  purpose.  It  results  in  the 
contentment  of  an  hitherto  dissatisfied  element  in  the 
community. 

The  patron  of  The  Morris  Plan  company  is  not  a 
recipient  of  charity.  He  has  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  his  transactions  are  on  a  strictly  business  basis, 
entailing  no  loss  of  self-respect.  The  Morris  Plan  helps 
people  to  help  themselves. 

It  may  also  be  observed  that  on  The  Morris  Plan 
the  borrower  gives  no  chattel  mortgage  on  household 
effects.     He  secures  his   money,   moreover,   at   a   rate 


lower  than  the  minimum  chattel-loan  companies  charge. 
A  Morris  Plan  company  makes  no  investments 
except  in  loans.  Its  profits  are  made  by  loaning  its 
capital  at  the  legal  rate  of  interest,  reloaning  the  aggre- 
gate funds  resulting  from  interest  paid  in  advance  on 
loans,  and  weekly  jiayments  on,  and  proceeds  from  the 
sale  of.  investment  certificates.  Operating  with  maxi- 
mum efficiency,  a  com{)any  when  well  established  should 
loan  every  year  two  and  one-half  times  the  amount 
of  its  capital  and  of  such  funds  as  result  from  the  sale 
of  investment  certificates,  at  a  cost  of  operation  not  to 
exceed  three  per  cent,  of  the  loans  made.  It  should 
earn,  after  deducting  operating  expense,  ten  per  cent, 
on  these  resources  consisting  of  capital  and  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  investment  certificates.  The  interest 
paid  on  these  certificates  should  be  deducted  from  the  in- 
come resulting  from  loaning  the  proceeds  of  their  sale. 

PROFITS  AND  LOSSES 

Twenty-two  comj)anies  operating  The  Morris  Plan 
on  May  31,  1915,  had  made  70,677  loans,  averaging 
$124.20  and  aggregating  $8,778,262.* 

The  number  of  loans  outstanding  on  April  30,  1915, 
was  28,457,  the  total  amount  of  money  on  loan  at  that 
date  was  $3,575,305,  and  the  average  amount  of  money 
per  loan  was  $125.64. 

The  net  profits  of  the  companies  operating  during 
the  first  eight  months  of  the  calendar  year  1914  were 
at  the  rate  of  7.8  j)er  cent,  on  the  caj)ital  employed. 
These  profits  do  not  include  unearned  discounts.  1  hey 
record  the  success  of  new  companies,  a  number  of 
which  had  been  in  operation  only  a  little  more  than 
one  year. 

•May  earnings  of  three  companies  estimated. 

1 1 


PURPOSES  OF  THE 
INDUSTRIAL  FINANCE  CORPORATION  AS  STATED  IN 
ITS  CERTIFICATE  OF  INCORPORATION 

A  new  development  in  American  finance  may  be  said 
to  have  begun  with  the  incorporation  in  Virginia,  on 
February  i6,  1914,  of  the  Industrial  Finance  Corpora- 
tion. The  purpose  for  which  this  Corporation  was 
organized  is  to  further,  throughout  the  Union,  the 
organization  of  local  companies  to  operate  The  Morris 
Plan,  in  order: 

To  provide  for  the  worthy  wage-earner,  where  the  need 
of  the  loan  is  apparent,  opportunity  for  borrowing  small 
sums  of  money  without  the  necessity  of  submitting  to  the 
extortion  of  unscrupulous  money-lenders,  but  at  rates 
which  are  reasonable  to  the  borrower  and  yet  fairly  remu- 
nerative to  capital; 

To  enable  the  wage-earner  to  secure  such  moneys  largely 
upon  the  faith  of  endorsements  and  guarantees,  and  with- 
out the  often  embarrassing  and  burdensome  requirements 
of  a  pledge  of  chattels  as  collateral  security  for  repayment; 
and  also, 

To  provide  opportunity  for  the  systematic  investment 
of  small  savings,  bearing  a  higher  rate  of  interest  than 
is  now  feasible,  and  affording  a  basis  for  the  securing  of 
credit,  and  thus  to  encourage  thrift. 

In  the  judgment  of  those  responsible  for  the  organi- 
zation of  this  Corporation  the  accomplishment  of  these 
purposes  will  incidentally  put  an  end  to  much  dissatis- 
faction concerning  financial  and  industrial  conditions, 
with  its  resultant  agitation,  and  foster  a  more  intelligent 
understanding  between  Capital  and  Labor. 

The  operation  of  The  Morris  Plan  results  in  wide 
extension  of  borrowing  facilities  to  people  of  small  means, 
and  a  similar  extension  of  facilities  for  the  investment 
of  small  funds  that  will  insure  a  remunerative  return. 
It  reaches  a  field  hitherto  untouched  by  financial 
institutions. 


ENTRANCE    H  AI  L— I  NDl'STRI  AI,    FINANCE    CORPORATION 

Although  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  is  a 
new  organization,  created  for  the  purpose  of  the  national 
development  of  these  facilities,  The  Morris  Plan  is  not 
new.  It  had  its  beginning  fourteen  years  ago  and  has 
been  in  successful  ojjeration  for  nearly  five  years. 

Some  of  the  ablest  financiers  of  America  have 
approved  it;  in  its  operation  it  has  jiroved  a  godsend 
to  thousands,  and  its  extension  will  decidedly  ameliorate 
the  financial  condition  ot  numberless  wage-earners, 
salaried  employees,  small  merchants,  and  other  people 
whose  borrowing  needs  are  as  valid  as  those  of  their 
more  prosperou-.  neighbors. 

FOREIGN  INDUSTRIAL  BANKING  SYSTEMS 

Sixty-five  years  ago,  whether  in  Europe  or  America, 
the  man  without  money  was  without  credit.  Now, 
the  honest  and   industrious  Eurojiean  of  small   means 

>3 


to  whom  credit,  convertible  into  cash,  is  inaccessible 
is  the  exception.  For  this  radical  improvement  in 
his  condition  he  is  indebted  primarily  to  the  German 
publicist,  Herman  Schulze  of  Delitzsch,  Saxony,  whose 
writings,  speeches,  and  practical  activities  made  him 
the  pioneer  in  the  movement  for  popular  banking  in 
industrial  communities  that  has  had  such  an  amazing 
growth  in  the  German  Empire  and  elsewhere. 

GERMANY 

Germany  may  be  regarded  as  the  home  of  industrial 
banking.  One  thousand  and  fifty-one  of  the  Schulze- 
Delitzsch  banks  in  Germany  in  the  year  1910  loaned 
^1,106,165,207.  This  does  not  include  any  of  the  banks 
of  the  Raiffeisen  system,  which  are  altogether  coopera- 
tive and  which  make  loans,  not  only  on  personal  credit, 
but  on  land  mortgage  as  well.  Of  the  Raiffeisen  banks 
there  were  14,993  on  January  i,  1910.  The  loans  by 
those  institutions  outstanding  on  that  date  amounted 
to  ^452,749,961.  The  United  States  Commission  which 
recently  made  an  investigation  of  rural  credits  in  Europe 
estimates  the  number  of  Schulze-Delitzsch  and  other 
cooperative  banks  in  Germany  to  be  17,000,  doing  a 
total  business  of  nearly  ^5,000,000,000  a  year. 

ITALY 

In  Italy  in  1908,  690  institutions  known  as  People's 
Banks  had  outstanding  loans  amounting  to  ^170,091,- 
946.  During  the  year  they  had  discounted  over  2,500,- 
000  bills  of  an  aggregate  value  of  about  ^3  29,2 1 2,000,  and 
they  held  investments  in  Government  and  other  securi- 
ties to  the  extent  of  ^114,152,800.  Losses  are  infini- 
tesimal. The  proportion  of  loss  in  the  People's  Bank 
of  Bologna  is  about  one  one-hundredth  of  one  per  cent. 

14 


FRANCE 

In  France  the  small  loans  of  the  Bank  of  France 
made  annually  amount  to  hundreds  of  millions.  Out 
of  9,056,424  loans  made  by  the  Bank  in  Paris  in  1913, 
over  half  were  for  sums  less  than  ^20,  and  nearly  one- 
third  were  for  amounts  less  than  $10. 

Other  European  countries  have  provided  similar 
facilities  for  their  small  borrowers  and  savers.  I'he 
only  important  countries  in  which  no  concerted  efforts 
had  been  made  to  develop  a  system  of  industrial  finance 
based  upon  personal  credit,  prior  to  the  advent  of  The 
Morris  Plan,  were  the  United  States  and  England.  The 
figures  quoted  above  give  one  an  idea  ot  what  it  means 
to  the  small  but  self-respecting  shop-keeper,  the  man 
or  woman  on  limited  salary,  the  trusted  clerk,  the  me- 
chanic, the  laborer,  or  the  domestic  servant,  to  have 


DIRECTORS      ROOM — INDlSTRIAt    FINANCE    (.  ORfOKATION 

IS 


access  to  loanable  funds,  when  it  is  necessary  to  borrow, 
on  terms  as  reasonable  as  those  on  which  the  merchant 
or  man  of  property  borrows  at  a  commercial  bank  or 
trust  company. 

CONDITIONS  IN  AMERICA 

Here  in  America  we  have  been  too  busy  with  big 
things  to  pay  much  heed  to  the  individually  small  ones. 
Our  institutions,  fully  occupied  in  financing  the  develop- 
ment of  larger  enterprises,  have  overlooked  the  fact 
that  their  resources  might  be  loaned  in  small  units  quite 
as  profitably  as  in  large  ones,  and  even  more  safely. 
It  is  difficult  at  first  fully  to  appreciate  the  possibilities 
of  this  development,  and  it  is  largely  by  comprehending 
Europe's  experience  and  analyzing  the  humanitarian 
and  financial  results  already  secured  in  this  country 
that  one  can  reach  a  true  realization  of  the  import  of 
this  national  undertaking. 

Not  until  twenty  years  ago  could  an  American  of 
small  means,  without  banking  connections,  borrow 
money  at  reasonable  rates.  Since  then,  if  he  happened 
to  live  in  New  York  City,  he  has  been  able  to  obtain 
financial  assistance  from  The  Provident  Loan  Society, 
which  was  founded  for  the  purpose  of  lending  money 
on  pawns.  By  pledging  a  watch,  a  ring,  a  piece  of 
silverware,  or  other  article  of  value,  he  could  procure 
a  small  loan  to  tide  him  over  an  emergency,  at  the  rate 
of  one  per  cent,  a  month.  Before  this  Society  entered 
the  field,  the  victim  of  circumstances,  who  was  com- 
pelled to  pawn  his  treasure,  had  to  pay  a  very  high  rate 
of  interest,  and  not  infrequently  lost  the  article  pledged 
when  sold  at  auction  because  of  his  inability  to  redeem 
it.  The  success  of  The  Provident  Loan  Society  shows 
how  great  was  the  need  of  the  relief  it  has  aff^orded. 

i6 


Its  loans,  averaging  less  than  ^^33. 50,  in  the  year  1914 
reached  nearly  ^I9,cxdo,ooo.  The  fact  that  it  pays 
interest  at  six  per  cent,  on  its  certificates  of  inilchtedness 
and  has  accumulated  a  large  surplus  is  substantial  evi- 
dence of  what  can  be  done  in  the  field  of  sociological 
effort,  if  developed  on  a  sound  foundation  and  con- 
ducted on  a  strictly  business  basis. 

The  work  of  The  Provident  Loan  Society  of  New 
^'ork  has  been  sui)plemented  by  that  of  various  chattel 
loan  societies,  which,  as  their  name  indicates,  make 
loans  on  household  efi^ects  and  security  of  the  same 
general  character.  The  operations  of  these  societies 
are  either  wholly  or  semi-philanthropic,  their  interest 
charges  ranging  from  two  per  cent,  to  three  per  cent, 
a  month.  Undoubtedly  they  have  accomplished  much, 
but  the  volume  of  their  business  is  limited,  and  it  is 
believed  they  do  not  touch  the  larger  field  where  usury 
continues  to  thrive. 


NOTE 
.Morris  Bank  of  Nashville 

5  Namivilii  ,  Tkk.x  . 

wr«k,  altrr  •latf ,  Itir  v«lac  r«mt-«tl.  «r,  ihr  itfKlcr»icDr<l.  iv^ntly  ami  «rATrall>  |irnnit*u*  to  pa\  lu  thr  urdrr  f>l 
Ik*  MliRRIS  HANK  OK  N'ASIIVII.I.K.  >l  it.  offin  in  Ihc  Cilr  •>!  Na.hvillr.  thr  onni  nl 

l)nUar»  (5  ),  in  Kuld  .-oin  ul  Ihr  I'nilcd  Slalr.,  (iiivinc(lcpo«itrd  hrrrwith 

•.  r..ll»rf4l  .r.<i>:I>    l.:.)«lin,ni      (Mi.,  v' '    |,.>^.l.nrni  tVfiil,.  air    .,1  ^,.>   ll>nl     \..  ni..l 


■•lUNATI^IIK^ 


ADItRlfhSHS 


Trff^i.   ^rAr;r^." 


17 


Illustration  used  in  article  appearing  in  The  American  Magazine  of  February,  1914,  entitled 

"A  Poor  Man's  Bank — How  Atlanta  Is  Fighting  the  Loan  Sharks  by 

Lending  Money  on  the  Security  of  Labor" 


THE  LOANSHARK  EVIL 

The  borrower  who  needed  more  than  a  few  dollars, 
but  was  without  banking  facilities,  and  yet  whose  status 
was  above  that  of  the  average  pawn  customer,  usually 
had  recourse  to  purely  commercial  money-lenders,  who 
exacted  a  mortgage  on  household  goods  or  an  assign- 
ment of  salary.  People  offering  these  avenues  of  credit 
depend  more  upon  threats  of  exposure  than  upon  legal 
security  and  their  usurious  devices  for  personal  profit 
result  in  the  accumulation  of  expenses  equivalent  to 
an  interest  charge  varying  from  40  to  500  per  cent, 
per  annum.  These  individuals,  plying  their  nefarious 
calling  either  as  persons  or  corporations,  are  popularly 
known  as  loansharks. 

Fifteen  years  ago  the  light  of  publicity  had  not 
fallen  on  the  loanshark  evil.  To-day  as  a  result  of  the 
continuous  efforts  of  the  press,  it  has  become  a  subject 
of  general  knowledge  and  interest.     The  leading  news- 


papers  of  the  country  have  brouj^ht  vividly  before  the 
thoughtful  and  considerate  the  injurious  effects  of  the 
loanshark's  operations. 

The  works  of  Henry  W.  Wolff,  of  London,  England, 
entitled  "People's  Banks,"  "Cooperative  Credit  Socie- 
ties," and  "Village  l^anks,"  teeming  with  facts  and 
statistics  concerning  this  imjx)rtant  subject,  show  how 
Europe  has  solved  the  problem.  A  similar  solution 
is  as  necessary  in  America  to-day  as  it  was  in  Europe 
over  half  a  century  ago. 

Though  the  exactions  of  the  loanshark  are  deplor- 
able, and  his  practices  are  the  subject  of  legislative 
prohibition,  yet  he  is  a  necessary  evil  in  any  community 
where  no  [proper  substitute  exists.  The  savings  bank 
is  invaluable,  fostering  thrift  and  conserving  its  fruits, 
but  its  patrons,  wanting  cash  for  legitimate  use,  can 
obtain  relief  only  by  withdrawing  their  dej)osits,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  thereby  sacrificing  interest  and  parting 
with  the  result  of  years  of  self-denial.  More  often  it 
happens  that  those  whose  immediate  need  is  great,  have 
no  savings  account  to  \\ithdraw. 

MISTAKEN  CHARITY 

It  is  futile  to  maintain  that  any  financial  institution 
should  be  conducted  as  a  charity.  It  is  unfair  that 
any  one  who  has  an  economic  need  ot  money,  and  can 
furnish  safe  security  therefor,  should  be  made  to  feel  that 
he  is  an  object  of  charity  or  the  favored  protege  of  an 
institution  whose  avowed  pur|)ose  "rings  with  the  chime 
of  charity,"  and  which  is  heralded  as  a  further  example 
of  what  the  rich  are  gratuitously  giving  to  the 
poor.  The  majority  of  small  borrowers  and  small 
investors  should  not,  and  will  not,  be  jilaccd  in  this 
category. 

19 


CONFERENCE    ROOM— INDUSTRIAL    FINANCE    CORPORATION 

In  which  are  displayed  photographs  of  officers  and  offices  of  the  companies 
operating  The  Morris  Plan 

There  are  many  who  hold  that  poverty  should  be 
subsidized,  and  that  the  only  way  to  aid  the  needy  is 
to  give  them  something.  Yet,  with  industrial  classes 
as  competent  and  as  productive  as  ours,  and  with  a 
demand  for  labor  that  grows  greater  and  greater  every 
year,  to  say  nothing  of  the  many  immunities  with  which 
these  classes  are  favored,  no  greater  mistake  could  be 
made  than  to  maintain  that  industrial  problems  can 
be  solved  by  this  pauperizing  policy. 

What  is  needed  in  this  country  is  not  the  subsidizing 
of  individuals,  but  the  recognition  of  industry  as  a  basis 
of  credit.  This  should  take  the  form  of  affording  the 
industrial  classes  proper  opportunities  to  help  them- 
selves. Helping  people  to  help  themselves  is  scientific 
philanthropy.     Helping  people  without  giving  them  a 


chance  to  help  themselves  is  unscientific  charity.  In 
order  to  help  himself  in  time  of  need,  a  man's  first 
requirement  is  an  institution  where  financial  assistance 
can  be  obtained  on  conditions  requiring  no  sacrifice  of 
self-respect — an  institution  conducted  on  safe  and  sound 
business  principles,  which  make  labor  an  asset  and  capi- 
talize character,  industry,  and  frugality.  The  Morris 
Plan  provides  such  an  institution. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  MORRIS  PLAN 

Over  fourteen  years  ago  Arthur  J.  Morris,  of  the 
law  firm  of  Morris,  Garnett  &  Gotten,  of  Norfolk,  Va., 
became  impressed  with  the  fact  that  persons  of  small 
means  in  Anfierica — the  artisan,  the  laborer,  and  the 
clerk,  constituting  three-fourths  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion— although  able  to  secure  credit  in  merchandise  on 
satisfactory  terms,  were  almost  entirely  unable  to  pro- 
cure credit  in  money  except  from  usurious  money- 
lenders. Mr.  Morris  determined  to  devise  a  plan  that 
would  meet  this  economic  need.  During  several  years 
spent  in  study  and  research  it  became  evident  that  the 
United  States,  usually  so  advanced  in  business,  was 
behind  the  nations  of  continental  Europe  in  developing 
the  field  of  industrial  finance.  European  example  and 
experience  furnished  an  excellent  basis  for  a  system  of 
industrial  loans  and  investments  that  would  supply 
American  needs. 

The  Morris  Plan  is  an  adaptation  of  the  details  of 
the  different  foreign  systems  to  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  American  banking.  On  the  completion  of 
the  plan  it  was  determined  to  answer  once  and  for  all 
certain  questions  relating  to  its  adaptability  before  its 
general  development  should  be  undertaken.  These 
questions  were  as  follows: 


NORFOLK    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 


Can  a  financial  institution  loan  safely  on  character 
supported  by  earning  power? 

Can  such  an  institution  determine,  with  reasonable 
safety  and  accuracy,  the  amount  it  should  loan  by 
relying  largely  upon  the   applicant's   annual   income? 

Can  the  company's  favorable  decision  on  the  two 
foregoing  questions  be  underwritten  by  two  endorsers 
satisfactory  to  the  loaning  company,  and  can  the  bor- 
rower obtain  the  signatures  of  such  endorsers? 

If  these  principles  can  be  satisfactorily  determined, 
is  there  a  need  for  such  a  business? 

If  so,  is  it  sufficiently  profitable  to  justify  the  invest- 
ment of  capital  for  its  development? 

Since  these  questions  could  be  solved  only  by  actual 
practice,  it  was  determined  to  organize  the  Fidelity 
Savings  &  Trust  Company,  of  Norfolk,  to  demonstrate 
the  feasibility  of  the  plan. 


THE  PIONEER  MORRIS  PLAN  COMPANIES 
NORKOLK 

This  Company  began  business  in  March,  1910,  with 
a  paid  in  capital  of  ^20,000.  It  loaned,  the  first  year, 
^45,400  in  amounts  averaging  $140  each.  At  the  end 
of  the  second  year  it  had  loaned  over  $130,000  and  had 
paid  its  first  dividend  of  six  per  cent.,  after  setting  aside 
a  surplus.  It  has  paid  three  annual  dividends  of  six  per 
cent.,  that  for  the  year  191 3  being  at  the  rate  of  six  per 
cent,  on  its  book  value,  which  amounted  to  nine 
per  cent,  on  its  capital,  as  it  had  accumulated  a  surplus 
of  fifty  per  cent.  On  January  i,  1914,  its  capital  was 
doubled,  and  the  new  issue  of  stock  was  immediately 
subscribed  for,  without  public  offering,  at  the  rate  of 
$150  per  share.  The  company's  stock  has  since  sold 
as  high  as  $180  per  share,  and  there  has  been  a  contin- 
uous increase  in  volume  of  business  and  earning  power. 

From  its  organization  to  June  30,  191 5,  this  Com- 
pany had  made  7,122  loans  amounting  in  the  aggre- 
gate to  $915,390. 


*3 


W.  WOODS    WHITE 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE    ATLANTA    COMPANY 

Pioneer  student  and  antagonist  of  the  Loanshark  Evil  in  America, 

who  has  demonstrated  The  Morris  Plan  as  an  effective  remedv 


24 


ATLANTA 

Before  it  had  been  in  operation  for  a  whole  year  at 
Norfolk,  The  Morris  Plan  was  presented  to  Mr.  \V. 
Woods  White,  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  who  had  been  fighting 
the  loansharks  for  twenty  years  and  had  made  a  careful 
study  of  every  remedy  for  this  evil.  He  at  once  realized 
its  value.  The  Atlanta  Loan  and  Saving  Company, 
organized  with  a  capital  of  ^50,000,  began  business  in 
June,  191 1.  In  November  of  the  same  year  the  capital 
was  increased  to  ^75,000.  The  report  of  Mr.  White, 
the  President  of  the  Company,  at  the  end  of  its  first 
year  is  replete  with  human  interest: 

During  our  first  year  we  made  1,155  loans  amounting 
to  $149,057.  [A  list  of  the  occupations  represented  by 
these  borrowers  is  given  in  the  report.]  During  the  year 
we  have  received  1,767  applications  for  loans  amounting 
to  ^^229,776.  We  have  had  to  decline  a  number  of  our 
loans  because  we  did  not  regard  them  as  within  the  scope 
of  our  business,  belonging,  as  we  thought,  to  regular  com- 
mercial institutions. 

We  have  taken  up  1,150  loans  made  by  "money-sharks" 
during  the  year,  with  interest  charges  ranging  from  five 
per  cent,  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  per  month.  Saving  in 
interest  charges  to  the  borrowers,  on  the  basis  of  our  trans- 
actions, reaches  approximately  the  astonishing  figure  of 
f>js,,ooo.  In  other  words,  our  borrowers  would  have  paid 
}^75,ooo  interest  during  the  year  and  at  the  end  of  the  vear 
would  have  owed  the  principal.  Again,  5^75,000  would 
have  been  taken  from  our  borrowers  and  put  into  the 
pockets  of  the  money-sharks.  .  .  .  We  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  better  citizens  have  been  made  out  of 
hundreds  of  them  because  of  their  contact  with  our  bank. 
We  make  this  statement  upon  the  strength  of  hundreds 
of  letters  we  have  received  from  our  borrowers  and  upon 
the  personal  testimony  of  nKin\'  of  rhem  to  the  t)Hicers  and 
others  connected  with  our  bank. 

Referring  to  the  borrowers,  Mr.  White  states: 

They  do  not  want  charity,  nor  do  they  need  charity. 
They  want  only  a  decent  chance  to  conduct  their  small 
business  on  a  living  scale.     Ibis  they  are  entitled  to 


.  Our  Company  seeks  to  supplant  the  money-shark 
and  place  men  whose  service  and  skill  make  values,  upon 
something  like  terms  of  equality  with  more  favored  mem- 
bers of  society,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  in  Atlanta 

the  intelligence  and  conscience  of  its  citizens  have 
determined  that  the  inequalities  which  have  heretofore  ex- 
isted shall  no  longer  exist;  that  the  cruelties  and  inhumani- 
ties growing  out  of  our  neglect,  and  their  needs,  shall  cease. 

In  addition  to  accomplishing  remarkable  sociological 

results,  the  Atlanta  Company  paid  a  dividend  of  six 

per  cent,  on  the  par  value  of  its  capital  stock  at  the  end 

of  the  first  year,  and  laid  aside  a  small  surplus.     During 

its    second    year   the   Company   increased    its    surplus 

substantially,  besides  paying  a  second  dividend  of  six 

per  cent.     At  the  end  of  its  third  and  fourth  years  the 

Company  had    still    further   increased    its   volume   of 

business  and  its  earning  capacity,  and  paid  dividends  of 

seven  per  cent.,  besides  adding  to  its  surplus,  which  is 

now  ^10,000.    The  Company  continues  to  show  a  steady 

increase  both  in  volume  of  business  and  earning  power. 

From  its  organization  to  June  30,  1915,   it  had  made 

6,362  loans  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  ^803,353. 


ATLANTA    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 
26 


BALTIMORE    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 


BALTIMORE 
Subsequent  to  its  success  in  Atlanta,  The  Morris 
Plan  was  presented  to  some  of  the  leading  bankers  of 
Baltimore.  On  their  favorable  report,  investigation 
was  made  by  leading  business  men  of  that  city,  and  in 
February,  191 2,  The  Mutual  Loan  Company  was  organ- 
ized. Its  authorized  capital  was  fixed  at  $200,000,  of 
which  )^ioo,ooo  was  offered  for  sale  and  oversubscribed. 
Mr.  C.  I.  T.  (lould,  the  President,  in  his  first  annual 
report,  covering  eleven  months  of  operation,  states: 

The  test  of  the  plan  having  proved  satisfactory,  we  are 
now  in  a  position  to  expand  and  canvass  the  city  for  busi- 
ness, of  which  there  is  an  immense  voUime  awaiting  us. 
Has  it  proven  helpfid?  Our  experience  during 
the  past  year  has  more  than  convinced  us  of  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  some  such  institution  as  this.  ...  lo 
many  [borrowers]  the  Mutual  Loan  Company  has  been  a 
blessing,  and  we  could  cite  many  instances  in  which  our 
customers  have  told  us  of  the  benefit  it  has  conferred  upon 

27 


them.  Many  have  expressed  the  deepest  gratitude  for  the 
assistance  we  have  been  able  to  render  them  in  time  of 
stress  and  necessity,  when  the  weekly  income  needed  to 
be   replenished. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  eleven  months,  loans  aggregat- 
ing ^316,000  had  been  made,  and  after  the  usual  deduc- 
tions and  setting  aside  a  reserve  of  ^1,000,  there  was  a 
net  earned  surplus  of  ^5,899.29.  From  its  organization 
to  June  30,  1915,  the  Company  had  made  7,105  loans 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  ^1,145,050. 


BALTIMORE    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 


28 


WASHINGTON    COMPANYS    OFFICE 

WASHINGTON 
Following;  the  successful  experience  in  Baltimore, 
it  was  determined  to  establish  a  Morris  Plan  company 
at  Washington,  1).  C.  Mr.  Frank  S.  Bright,  an  attorney 
of  that  city,  was  the  pioneer  in  this  movement.  The 
Fidelity  Savings  Company,  Inc.,  was  organized  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency, 
who  had  approved  the  plan  of  organization.  The 
institution  opened  for  business  in  July,  191 2.  Its  suc- 
cess merely  repeats  that  of  its  predecessors.  In  May, 
1914,  after  less  than  twenty-four  months'  operation, 
the  Company  had  made  4,206  loans  amounting  to 
$631,925,  averaging  about  $151  each.  The  Company 
paid  its  first  dividend  in  January,  1914,  and  had  accu- 
mulated a  surplus  of  ^^10,419. 92,  after  having  charged 
oft  $^,000,  OT  one-half  of  its  organization  expense.     Its 

29 


losses  from  bad  debts  have  not  exceeded  ^60.  Its  stock 
has  sold  in  the  local  market  at  ^140  per  share.  From 
its  organization  to  June  30,  1915,  it  had  made  8,251 
loans  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  ^1,197,150. 

GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  MORRIS  PLAN 
The  success  of  these  pioneer  companies  in  Norfolk, 
Atlanta,  Baltimore,  and  Washington  had  attracted  wide 
attention.  A  Morris  Plan  institution  seemed  to  have  be- 
come a  municipal  necessity,  and  requests  for  the  organi- 
zation of  such  companies  were  frequently  received.  A 
corporation  was  organized  in  July,  1912,  for  this  purpose, 
known  as  the  Fidelity  Corporation  of  America.  In  less 
than  two  years  after  it  began  business,  Morris  Plan  com- 
panies were  organized  in  ten  additional  cities.  To-day  the 
plan  is  being  operated  by  the  following  organizations: 


WASHINGTON    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 
30 


City  Name  of  Company  Date  of  U|)ening 

Norfolk.  \. I.  Fidelity  Savings  &  Trust         March  23,  1910 

Company 
Atlanta,  Cia.  Atlanta  Loan  anil  Saving       jiau-  19,  191 1 

Company 
Haitiniorf,  Md.         Mutual  Loan  Company  Kt'lMiiary  I,  191  2 

\\  ashington,  1).  C.  Fidelity  Savings  Company,    July  10.  191 2 

Inc. 
Richmond,  \'a.         Fidelity  Loan  and  Savings     November  4,  191 2 

Company 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  Industrial  Loan  Company      January  2,  1913 

Memphis,  Tenn.      Industrial  Bank  and  Frust      February  i,  1913 

Company 
Charlfston.  S.  C.      Charleston  Fidelity  Corpo-     March  4.  1913 

ration 
Columbia,  S.  C.       The  Homestead  Bank  April  2,1913 

Springfield,  Mass.    Industrial  Loan  Company      May  I,  1913 

of  Springfield 

Denver.  CoK).  Economic  Loan  and  Invest-    Mav  14,  191 1 

ment  Company 

Philadelphia,  Pa.     Pennsylvania  Loan  Juneg,  1913 

Company 

Lynchburg,  \  a.        Citizens  Savings  and  Loan      July  22,  1913 

Corporation 
Portsmouth,  \'a.      Industrial  Loan  Corporation  April  i,  1914 
Nashville,  Tenn.      Morris  Bank  of  Nashville        August  25,  1914 
Ntw  Ha\«.n.  Conn.  New  Haven  Morris  Plan        DLCtinlKr  I>^.  i(;i4 

Company 

Nfu  ^  i>rk  City         The  Morris  Plan  Compan\    December  ^  i,  1914 
of  New  York 

South  Bend,  Ind.      The  Morris  Plan  Company  January  20,  1915 
of  South  Bend 

Hartford,  Conn.        Fhe  Hartford   .Morris   Plan   March   11.  I<;i5 
Company 

Bridgeport,  Conn.    Ihc  Bridgeport  Morris  Plan  April  19,  1915 
Company 

Salisbury,  N.  C.       Salisbury   Morris   Plan  May  3,1915 

Company 

Worcester,  .Mass.     The  Worcester  .Morris  Plan    .Ma\   24.  1915 

Company 
Springfield,  Ohio       Fht- Springfield  Morris  Plan   June  5,  1915 

Company 

;  I 


By  May  31,  1915,  twenty-two  companies  operating 
The  Morris  Plan  had  loaned  in  the  aggregate  ^8,778,262 
to  70,677  borrowers. 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  FINANCE  CORPORATION 

The  Morris  Plan  became  a  reality  with  the  opening 
of  the  Fidelity  Savings  &  Trust  Company,  of  Norfolk. 
Early  scepticism  soon  gave  way  to  conviction;  predic- 
tion became  demonstration.  Opinions  as  to  what  could 
or  could  not  be  done  were  replaced  by  the  testimony 
of  actual  accomplishment.  The  plan  stood  every  test, 
and  the  results  accomplished  justified  the  claims  of 
those  who  had  believed  in  it  from  the  first.  At  the  same 
time  this  experience  taught  many  things. 

It  became  apparent,  in  time,  that  in  following  the 
principles  of  industrial  banking  abroad,  all  institutions 
operating  The  Morris  Plan,  in  order  to  insure  their 
maximum  efficiency,  should  have  opportunity  to  enjoy 
the  cooperation  and  assistance  of  a  strong  central 
organization,  national  in  scope,  that  would  standardize 
every  detail  of  their  operations;  an  organization  that 
would  not  seek  to  control  an  individual  company,  but 
would  cooperate  with  it  in  order  to  insure  its  maximum 
success  through  its  own  local  management. 

It  seemed  desirable,  also,  that  such  a  central  institu- 
tion should  have  a  substantial  financial  interest  in  each 
company,  which  would  justify  and  perpetuate  this 
cooperative  assistance,  preserve  the  integrity  of  the 
system,  and  improve  the  operation  of  the  plan.  It 
seemed  wise  that  the  national  organization  should 
become  a  clearing-house  through  which  the  results  of 
the  experience  of  each  company  could  be  made  known 
to  the  others  for  the  benefit  of  all,  and  act  as  an 
adjuster  of  balances  in  order  that  the  surplus  funds  of 

32 


RICHMOND    company's    OFFICE 

local  companies  might  be  economically  cared  for 
and  loaned  to  other  Morris  Plan  companies,  an  equi- 
librium being  thereby  maintained  between  supply 
and  demand  for  money.  It  seemed  essential  that 
such  a  corporation  should  be  conducted  upon  business 
principles  and  not  as  a  philanthropy,  for  thereby  it 
was  believed  that  its  successful  operations,  involving 
vested  interests,  would  be  more  secure  and  their  results 
permanent. 

These  were  the  considerations  that  led  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation,  which  was 
chartered  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  \^irginia,  with 
authorized  preferred  stock  of  ^^5,000,000  and  authorized 
common  stock  of  ^2,000,000.  It  began  business  on 
June  I,  i(;i4,  in  its  general  offices  in  New  York  City, 
with  ^i,ooo,cxx)  of  preferred  and  ^^500,000  of  common 


stock  subscribed.  A  portion  of  this  stock  was  under- 
written without  expense  to  the  Corporation  or  profit  to 
the  underwriters,  and  is  reserved  for  those  who  may 
become  interested  in  the  organization  of  local  Morris 
Plan  companies,  or  who  desire  to  aid  in  the  development 
of  this  plan  of  industrial  finance. 

The  names  of  its  officers  and  directors  appear  at  the 
beginning  of  this  pamphlet.  Its  first  act  was  to  acquire 
the  assets  of  the  Fidelity  Corporation  of  America,  which 
included  all  the  proprietary  rights  to  The  Morris  Plan, 
all  copyrights  covering  every  expression  and  form  used 
by  it,  also  its  contracts  with,  and  minority  interests  in, 
the  companies  then  operating  the  business.  The  Cor- 
poration will  continue  to  assist  in  the  organization  of 
companies  in  all  important  cities  of  the  country,  and 
to  provide  part  of  the  capital  necessary  for  this  purpose. 


ST.    LOLIS    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 
34 


POSSIBLE  DEVELOPMENT 
OF  THE    MORRIS    PLAN    PROPOSED   BY  THE 

INDI'SIRI  \1.   FINANCE  CORPORATION 

INDUSTRIAL  INSURANCE 

Experience  has  shown  hii^c  jxjssihihties  lor  the 
(k'NcIopineiit  of  industrial  insurance  in  connection  with 
the  operation  ot  The  Morris  Phin.  The  expense  of  such 
husiness  results  largely  from  the  cost  ot  placing  the 
insurance  and  the  collection  of  premiums.  This  cost 
can  be  greatly  reduced  by  the  system  under  develop- 
ment. It  is  believed  that  a  plan  may  be  devised  for  the 
insurance  of  borrowers  which  w ill  result  in  large  benefit 
to  the  patrons  of  Morris  Plan  institutions  and  in  i)rofit 
to  all  in  interest. 

A  small  addition,  for  insurance,  to  the  weekly  instal- 
ment payments  made  by  borrowers  will  secure  to  the 
patron  of  the  institution  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  his  co-maker  w  ill  not  be  called  ui)on  to  pay  his  debt, 
and  that  his  family  may  have  something  to  fall  back 
upon,  in  the  event  of  his  death. 

R K D I SCUU N  1  1 NC;  A R R ANCj KM ENTS 

To  secure  an  equilibrium  between  supply  and  demand 
for  money  in  different  local  companies,  the  Corporation 
further  contemplates  the  perfecting  of  an  arrangement 
by  which  Morris  Plan  companies  needing  funds,  {lend- 
ing the  sale  of  additional  stock  or  certificates  ot  invest- 
ment, may  be  accommodated  temporarily,  and  other 
companies  having  surplus  funds  may  be  enabled  to  loan 
them  temporarily,  on  terms  and  under  conditions  satis- 
factory to  both  borrowing  and  loaning  companies,  with 
the    purpo'^e    of   furthering    the    development    ot    '1  he 


Morris  Plan  in  accordance  with  the  needs  of  the  pubhc 
for  loans  and  investments  in  every  locality. 

INVESTMENTS  IN  SMALL  DENOMINATIONS 

When  the  system  of  Morris  Plan  companies  has  been 
sufficiently  extended  to  warrant  it,  the  Industrial  Finance 
Corporation  will  consider  the  development  in  this  coun- 
try of  the  field  of  small  investments,  which  has  been 
cultivated  abroad  with  such  a  remarkable  effect  upon 
economic  conditions.  In  those  communities  where 
industrial  banks  have  encouraged  frugality  and  saving, 
and  have  offered  reasonable  and  economic  credit  facili- 
ties, the  results  have  been  remarkable.  In  France,  for 
example,  habits  of  frugality  and  thrift  have  developed 
as  nowhere  else.  Public  securities  in  great  volum.e 
have  been  sold  to  small  French  investors,  who,  as  one 
expert  on  the  subject  has  expressed  it,  are  as  familiar 
with  the  quality  and  safety  of  bonds  which  they  buy 
in  denominations  as  small  as  ^lo,  as  they  are  with  the 
price  and  fashion  of  shoes. 

When  our  people  have  been  educated  to  save  their 
money,  and  have  learned  how  their  earning  capacity 
may  be  capitalized,  why  should  not  American  wage- 
earners  be  as  thrifty  as  the  French  and,  like  them, 
habitual  investors  in  public  securities  issued  in  small 
denominations? 

HOW  MORRIS  PLAN  COMPANIES  ARE  ORGANIZED 

The  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  is  prepared  to 
assist  in  the  organization  of  Morris  Plan  companies 
throughout  the  United  States  where  the  size  and  char- 
acter of  the  community  call  for  the  facilities  they  afford. 
Usually  the  initiative  in  the  organization  of  a  company 
to  operate  The  Morris  Plan  has  come  from  citizens  of 

36 


I  .     1  ciUS    edMl' ANY    S    (>l  HCI, 


the  community  who  are  famiHar  with  the  success  of  one 
or  more  of  the  existing  companies.  Inquiry  is  made  of 
the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation,  and,  uj^on  the  sug- 
gested locaHty  commending  itself  to  the  judgment  of 
the  Corporation's  officers,  a  careful  survey  is  made  to 
determine  the  opportunity  for  the  successful  develop- 
ment of  the  Plan. 

The  Corporation  then  invites  the  cooperation  of 
those  of  the  highest  type  of  citizenship,  and  when  suffi- 
cient interest  has  been  awakened  to  warrant  further 
procedure  a  meeting  is  called  at  which  officers  of  the 
Corporation  present  The  Morris  Plan  in  detail  and  out- 
line the  course  to  be  adopted  in  the  organization  of  a 
local  company.  A  committee  on  organization  is  formed 
which,  alter  any  further  investigation  its  members  may 
see  fit  to  make,  undertakes  the  formalitiesof  organization 

37 


RECEIPT  FOR  PAYMENT  OF  STOCK  SUBSCRIPTION,  SHOWING  CHARACTER  OF 
EQUIPMENT  PROVIDED   BY  THE  INDUSTRIAL  FINANCE  CORPORATION 

in  cooperation  with  the  representatives  of  the  Corpora- 
tion, under  the  terms  of  a  prehminary  contract.  This 
in  time  is  followed  by  the  execution  of  an  operating 
contract,  when  the  company  comes  into  corporate 
existence. 

The  amount  of  capital,  proportionate  to  the  size  of 
the  community,  is  agreed  upon  and  the  committee 
cooperates  with  the  representatives  of  the  Corporation 
in  securing  subscriptions  to  the  stock  of  The  Morris 
Plan  company.  This  stock  is  sold  to  subscribers  at 
not  less  than  ten  per  cent,  above  par,  payments  to  be 
called  for  as  needed.  The  Corporation  becomes  a  sub- 
scriber for  this  stock  on  the  same  terms  as  are  ottered 
to  other  subscribers. 

38 


The  Corporation's  representatives  assist  in  choosing 
a  proper  site,  aid  local  counsel  in  obtaining  a  charter 
tor  the  company  and,  if  desired,  assist  in  choosing  proper 
officers.  The  Corporation  then  provides  a  full  equip- 
ment for  the  operation  of  The  Morris  Plan,  and  when 
the  company  is  ready  for  business  the  Corj^oration's 
representatives  install  the  system,  superintend  its 
inauguration,  and  instruct  the  officers  and  employees 
in  the  operation  of  The  Morris  Plan,  ope!i  the  books 
and  direct  the  pro{)er  method  of  making  loans,  and 
generally  supervise  the  business  of  the  company  for  a 
period  of  two  weeks,  or  longer  if  necessary.  All  the 
expenses  of  organization  of  every  nature  are  borne  by 
the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
new  company  an  operating  contract  is  entered  into, 
which  outlines  and  determines  the  relation  of  the  new 
company  to  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  and 
provides  for  the  payment  of  the  organization  fee. 


<[a|>tlal  i^larl. 


fHorris  ^llauU  iif  ^'asbuUlr 


"7 


i  ^  'L — 


STANDARD  STOCK  CKRTIFICATE,   SHOWING  CHARACTKR   OF    EQLIPMENT 
PROVIDED   BY  THE    INDUSTRIAL   FINANCE    CORPORATION 

39 


ITEMS  OF  EQUIPMENT  PROVIDED  BY  THE 
INDUSTRIAL  FINANCE  CORPORATION 


"B" 


De 


Rules  and  Regulations  for  Operation 

of  Morris  Plan 
Suggested  By-Laws 
Detailed   Explanation  of  Accounting 

System 
Data  for  Local  Press 
Manila  Covers  for  Pass-Books 
Cash  Book 
Journal 
Loan  Register 
General  Ledger 
Certificate  "B"  Ledger  and  Transfer 

Book 
Expense   Distribution   Book 
Trial  Balance  Book 
Indexed  Minute  Book 
Book    of    Receipts    for    Payment    of 

Stock  Subscriptions 
Form  of  Stock  Subscription  Call 
Book    of   Capital    Stock    Certificates 
Stock  Ledger  and  Transfer  Book 
Instalment  "C"  Certificate 

Pass-Book 

Certificate  Ledger  Cards 
Instalment  "C"  Certificate-assigned 

Pass-Book 

Certificate  Ledger  Cards 
Loose  Leaf  Scrap-Books 
Daily  Cash  Blotters 
Binder  for  Daily  Cash  Blotters 
Application  Blanks 
Binders   for   Application    Blanks 
Notes 

Co-makers'  Signature  Forms 
Approved  Application  Forms 
Rejected  Application  Forms 

Other  forms  for  increased   efficiency 
panies   are   being   devised  from  time  to 
Finance  Corporation. 

EARNINGS  ON  THE  MORRIS  PLAN 
A  Morris  Plan  company  declares  dividends  on  a  book 
value  computed  by  adding  to  the  par  value  of  the  capital 
stock  the  surplus  laid  aside  from  earnings.  A  cash  divi- 
dend not  exceeding  six  per  cent,  per  annum  is  paid  on 
this  book  value  annually  or  semi-annually.  The  book 
value  should  constantly  increase  and  the  return  to  the 
stockholders,  based  upon  this  increment,  should  result 
in  increasing  cash  dividends. 

40 


Form  Transmitting  Note 
Counter  Checks 
Delinquent  Notices  for  Makers 
Delinquent  Notices  for  Co-makers 
Folders  Descriptive  of  Morris  Plan 
Directors'  Meeting  Notices 
Blanks     for     Assignment     of 

Certificates 
Small  Envelopes 
Small  Return  Envelopes 
Large  Envelopes 
Large  Return  Envelopes 
Letterheads 
Liability  Index  Cards 
Weekly  Report  Forms 
Monthly  Report  Forms 

Receipts  and  Disbursements 
Resources  and  Liabilities 
Customers'  Index  Cards 
Liability  Record  Card  Guides 
Seal  and  Press 
Rubber  Stamp  Seal 
Class    "B"    Certificates — Four 

nominations 
Set  Numbering  Machines  with   Day 

Affix 
Numbering  Machine 
Ledger  Dater 
Line  Dater 
Paid  and  Date  Stamp 
Ink  Pads 
Stamp  Pad  Ink 
Self-Inking  Steel  Dater 
Check  Spindle 
Morris   Plan  Gummed  Labels 

and    convenience    of  operating    com- 
time  bv  the   staff  of  th*^   Industrial 


CHARI.KSTON    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 


The  earnings  of  a  Morris  Plan  company  are  derived 
from  the  interest  charged  borrowers  in  the  loaning  of  its 
capital  and  other  resources  obtained  from  the  sale  of 
investment  certificates,  and  the  method  by  which  its 
resources  are  being  constantly  turned  over  through  a 
compounding  process.  These  earnings  have  been  satis- 
factory because  of  the  practice  of  reloaning  the  bor- 
rowers' weekly  jxiyments  on  instalment  certiticates 
purchased  and  pledged  as  collateral,  and  likewise  reloan- 

41 


ing  the  interest  that  is  deducted  in  advance  on  each 
loan.  This  will  be  made  apparent  by  the  following 
description  of  how  loans  are  made. 

HOW  LOANS  ARE  MADE 

A  ^loo  loan,  for  example,  is  made  as  follows: 
The  borrower  gives  his  note  with  two  co-makers  for 
^loo,  due  one  year  after  date,  and  pays  interest  at  the 
legal  rate  in  advance — say  $6.  By  some  companies 
a  fee  of  $2  is  charged  to  cover  the  actual  cost  of 
investigating  his  application  and  the  standing  of  his 
co-makers.  He  then  agrees  to  purchase,  at  the  rate  of 
$2  per  week  for  fifty  weeks,  a  "Class  C"  Instalment 
Investment  Certificate.  This  certificate,  which  bears 
no  interest  when  hypothecated,  is  assigned  as  collateral 
for  the  loan.  At  the  end  of  fifty  weeks  the  borrower 
has  paid  ^100  on  this  certificate.  Two  weeks  later  his 
note  falls  due.  He  can  then  withdraw  the  ^100  paid 
on  the  certificate  and  pay  the  note,  thus  closing  the 
transaction.  He  also  has  two  other  options  hereinafter 
explained. 

From  the  foregoing  description  of  how  loans  are 
made,  it  will  be  seen  that  each  w^ek  the  Morris  Plan 
company  receives  from  borrowers,  by  payments  on 
"Class  C"  Investment  Certificates,  purchased  and 
pledged  as  collateral,  an  amount  equal  to  two  per  cent, 
of  outstanding  loans.  Therefore,  in  addition  to  loaning 
the  amount  of  its  capital  at  six  per  cent,  the  company 
reloans  two  per  cent,  of  each  loan  each  week.  It  also 
reloans  the  aggregate  amount  of  interest  deducted  in 
advance.  This  process  enables  the  company  to  earn 
a  gross  profit  on  each  dollar  of  capital  at  the  rate  of  13 
to  14  per  cent.,  according  to  the  activity  with  which  its 
funds  are  turned  over. 

42 


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a.  m 


43 


44 


ADUlilONAL  RLSULRCES 
PAID-UP   ("CLASS    B")   INVESTMENT    CERTIFICATES 

Resources  in  addition  to  the  capital  of  the  company 
are  provided  by  the  sale  of  "Class  B"  Investment 
Certificates.  These  certificates  bear  interest  at  the 
rate  of  five  per  cent,  per  annum,  evidenced  by  semi- 
annual coupons.  They  are  issued  in  denominations  of 
^^50,  i^ioo,  i$500,  and  $i,cxdo,  and  are  sold  for  cash. 
These  certificates  are  attractive  to  small  investors  and 
find  a  ready  sale.  In  this  way  additional  resources  are 
secured  on  which  the  company  is  able  to  earn  a  very 
satisfactory  profit,  after  paying  interest  on  its  certifi- 
cates. These  paid-up  certificates  may  be  cashed  at 
any  time  by  the  holder  thereof  on  thirty  days'  notice 
to  the  institution.  The  company  may  also  redeem 
these  certificates  upon  thirty  days'  notice  to  the  holder, 
and  reserves  the  right,  if  the  Board  of  Directors  deems 
it  necessary,  to  limit  the  number  and  amount  of  with- 
drawals in  any  one  month  in  conformity  with  the 
receipts  of  the  company.  These  conditions  are  expressed 
on  the  face  of  the  certificate. 

A  "  Class  B  "  Certificate  can  also  be  used  as  collateral 
for  a  loan  to  the  extent  of  its  face  value  without  the  need 
of  other  security  or  endorsement.  Applications  for 
loans  with  these  certificates  offered  as  collateral  are 
given  priority  over  all  others.  Their  general  ownership 
is,  therefore,  a  desired  evolution  of  the  plan. 

INSTAL.MKN  r  ("CLASS  C")  INVESTMENT 

CERTIFICATES 

Additional  resources  are  also  secured  from  the  sale 

of  "Class  C"  Investment  Certificates  on  the  instalment 

[)lan.     Certificates  of  this  class   provide  a  systematic 

investment  for  those  who  have  not  the  funds  with  which 

45 


to  purchase  paid-up  certificates  of  "Class  B."  These 
certificates,  known  as  "Class  C, "  are  issued  in  units  of 
$50  and  are  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  ^i  per  week  for  fifty 
weeks.  When  not  hypothecated  they  bear  interest, 
after  twenty-five  payments  have  been  made,  at  the  rate 
of  four  per  cent,  on  the  average  amount  paid  in,  leaving 
a  substantial  profit  to  the  company  from  the  loaning 
of  these  funds. 

As  a  source  of  earnings,  the  funds  obtained  from  the 
sale  of  "Class  B"  and  "Class  C"  certificates  bear  a 
relation  to  a  Morris  Plan  institution  and  its  capital 
similar  to  that  which  deposits  bear  to  a  bank.  Morris 
Plan  companies,  however,  do  not  receive  deposits  and 
none  of  their  funds  are  subject  to  check. 

REGARDING  LOSSES 

Not  the  least  surprising  feature  of  The  Morris  Plan 
is  the  safety  of  the  capital  employed,  as  demonstrated 
by  actual  experience.  These  funds  are  loaned  on  good 
three-name  notes,  secured  by  the  earning  capacity  of 
their  makers  and  by  collateral  that  is  growing  better  at 
the  rate  of  two  per  cent,  a  week.  Three  men,  whose 
integrity  is  carefully  investigated,  are  makers  on  each 
note.  Their  ability  to  meet  their  obligations  is  first 
determined  by  a  developed  system  of  inquiry,  the  results 
of  which  are  passed  upon  by  the  discount  committee, 
appointed  from  the  Board  of  Directors,  together  with 
the  local  cashier,  under  whose  supervision  the  investiga- 
tion has  been  completed,  and  whose  recommendations 
thereon  are  made  to  the  discount  committee.  Should 
the  maker  default,  through  death  or  otherwise,  there 
remain  two  persons  of  character  and  earning  power 
who  can  divide  the  liability  and  liquidate  the  loan  on 
easy  terms. 

46 


CHARLESTON  COMPANY  S  OFFICE 


1  wenty-two  companies  operating  The  Morris  Plan 
on  May  31,  191 5,  had  made  70,677  loans,  averaging 
$124.20  and  aggregating  $8,778,262. 

The  total  number  of  loans  outstanding  on  April 
30,  191 5,  was  28,457,  the  total  amount  of  money  on 
loan  at  that  date  was  $3,575,305,  and  the  average 
amount  |)er  loan  was  $125.64.  It  has  been  clearly 
demonstrated  that  under  normal  conditions  of  jiatron- 
age  and  management  the  average  of  loss  should  in  no 
case  exceed  one-quarter  of  one  per  cent.  This  experi- 
ence sufficiently  demonstrates  the  exceptional  safety 
of  the  plan. 

The  small  list  of  doubtful  accounts  at  most  of  the 
institutions  shows  that  if  the  same  care  and  attention 
are  given  to  loans  made  to  the  industrial  classes  as  are 
observed  in  ordinary  commercial  loans,  the  borrowers 

47 


will  promptly  meet  their  obligations.  This  conclusion 
is  confirmed  by  over  fifty  years  of  experience  in 
Europe,  where  the  losses  in  similar  institutions  are 
so  small  as  to  be  negligible. 

A  United  States  Government  commission  has  found 
that: 

With  equal  prudence  and  intelligence  on  the  part  of  the 
lender,  loans  to  the  industrious  and  economical  poor  are 
as  safe  as  those  made  to  any  class  whatever  of  the  rich. 

The  Morris  Plan  company  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
for  instance,  which  loaned  during  its  first  two  years 
about  ^750,000  to  4,000  borrowers,  sustained  but  one 
loss,  amounting  to  only  ^60. 


COLUMBIA  COMPANY  S   OFFICE 


SPRINGFIELD,    MASS.,    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 

FROM  THE  BORROWER'S  VIEWPOINT 
From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  a  Morris  Plan 
company  furnishes  the  small  borrower  with  an  institu- 
tion from  which  he  can  secure  reasonable  credit  in  time 
of  need. 

He  is  allowed  to  create  on  easy  terms  an  asset  with 
which  he  can  licjuidate  his  loan,  and  is  not  required  to 
furnish  chattel  mortgages  or  pawns.  He  can  obtain 
credit  even  if  he  is  a  day  laborer,  provided  he  produces 
two  of  his  fellow-workmen  to  vouch  for  his  integrity 
and  his  earning  power  by  becoming  co-makers  on  his 
note. 

Should  he  owe  the  grocer  ^25,  the  doctor  ^25,  the 
undertaker  ^^25,  and  some  other  creditor  ^^25,  the  Morris 
Plan  company  will  accept  the  endorsement  of  the  grocer, 
the  doctor,  the  undertaker,  and  the  other  creditor,  limit 

49 


the  liability  of  each  to  the  amount  he  receives,  and  mail 
each  creditor  a  check  for  the  amount  of  his  bill.  The 
borrower  is  thus  relieved  of  the  worry  of  debts  which 
he  cannot  pay,  and  is  placed  in  a  position  where  he  can 
liquidate  his  indebtedness  conveniently  by  small  weekly 
payments  consistent  with  his  income. 

He  is  also  encouraged  to  save  by  the  last  two  of  the 
following  three  options  that  are  given  him  at  the  time 
the  note  evidencing  his  loan  matures. 

I. 

Take  a  ^50  loan  as  an  example:  When  his  note 
becomes  due  he  can  withdraw  the  ^50  paid  on  the  "Class 
C"  Certificate,  pay  his  note,  and  close  the  transaction. 

II. 

He  also  has  the  option  of  paying  his  loan  from  out- 
side sources,  and  converting  his  "Class  C"  Certificate 
into  an  interest-bearing  ("Class  B")  Certificate. 
Sometimes  he  carries  twice  as  many  "C"  Certificates 
as  his  loan  requires,  so  that  at  maturity  he  may  not 
only  pay  the  note  but  also  acquire  interest-bearing  "  B  " 
Certificates. 

III. 

Or,  if  he  has  not  the  extra  funds,  he  may  convert  his 
"Class  C"  Certificate,  now  paid  up,  into  an  interest- 
bearing  ("Class  B")  Certificate,  use  it  as  security  for 
a  new  loan  of  ^50,  and  pay  his  old  note  with  the  ^50 
obtained  by  the  new  loan.  He  needs  no  endorsers  for 
his  second  loan,  as  the  "B"  Certificate  is  sufficient 
security. 

When  he  takes  out  this  second  or  new  loan,  the 
borrower  subscribes  for  another  "Class  C"  Instalment 
Certificate,  just  as  he  did  in  making  his  first  loan.     He 

so 


pays  $1  a  week  on  this  new  certituate  and  at  the  end 
ot  the  second  fifty  weeks  he  withdraws  the  ^^50  paid  and 
cancels  the  note.  This  cancellation  releases  his  "B" 
Certificate  from  hypothecation,  and  he  becomes  the 
owner  of  a  paid-iij)  ("Class  B")  Investment  Certificate 
worth  ^50  plus  $2.^0  interest.  He  will  have  started 
out  with  a  liability  and  finished  with  an  asset.  He  can 
borrow  on  this  asset  at  any  time  up  to  its  full  face  value 
without  furnishing  endorsers  or  other  security. 

Necessity  begot  a  habit  of  weekly  saving  which  led 
on  to  thrift. 

WHAT    THE  BORROWER   PAYS 

It  has  frequently  been  asked  what  the  borrower 
pays  for  loans  on  The  Morris  Plan.  In  determining 
this  question  a  distinction  should  be  made  between 
w  hat  the  borrower  pays  as  an  outlay  for  the  money 
received,  and  what  it  costs  him  by  combining  what  he 
actually  pays  with  the  interest  he  might  receive  on  his 
weekly  payments  if  invested.  Likewise,  a  distinction 
should  be  drawn  between  the  interest  charged  tor  the 
use  of  the  money,  and  the  amount  of  credit  extended. 

When  ^100  is  loaned  to  a  borrower  on  The  Morris 
Plan,  $6  interest,  or  the  legal  rate,  is  deducted  in 
advance  This  is  the  interest  that  he  pays.  He  does 
not  receive,  however,  interest  on  his  weekly  payments, 
which,  if  comj)uted  at  the  rate  allowed  by  savings  banks 
(four  per  cent.),  would  amount  to  $2.  If  the  interest, 
not  received  on  the  weekly  payments,  be  computed  at 
a  six  per  cent,  rate,  which  is  more  than  any  savings 
bank  or  other  institution  would  allow,  it  would  be  $3. 
He  likewise  does  not  receive  interest  for  one  year  on  the 
discount  deducted  in  advance,  which  in  this  instance 
would  be  six  per  cent,  on  $6  for  one  year,  or  36  cents. 

5« 


SPRINGFIELD,    MASS.,    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 

Therefore,  he  pays  $6,  and  does  not  receive  (at  the  four 
per  cent,  calculation)  ^2.24,  or  (at  the  six  per  cent, 
calculation)  ^3.36. 

But  it  has  been  suggested  that  if  a  man  borrows 
$100  and  six  per  cent,  interest  is  deducted  in  advance, 
and  he  receives  ^94  and  pays  $2  per  week,  he  only  has 
the  use  of  ^47  for  the  average  period  of  one  year,  and 
that  if  the  use  of  ^47  for  this  period  costs  the  borrower 
^6,  he  is  paying  an  interest  rate  in  excess  of  thirteen  per 
cent,  per  annum. 

It  is  submitted,  however,  that  the  borrower  under 
The  Morris  Plan  does  not  pay  thirteen  per  cent.  The 
suggestion  that  he  does  results  from  a  confusion  of 
thought  and  the  failure  to  distinguish  between  the 
average  amount  of  money  the  borrower  has  the  use  of 
for  one  year  and  the  amount  of  credit  extended  to  the 
borrower. 

52 


The  toregoing  statement  is  comj)uted  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  borrower  has  the  use  o(  ^j^j  for  the  average 
period  ot  one  year;  hut  it  the  borrower  who  receives  a 
^loo  loan  from  a  Morris  Phin  institution  should  die  one 
day  after  the  loan  is  made,  his  co-makers  would  be 
resj)onsible,  not  for  ^^47,  but  for  i^ioo.  Forty-seven 
dollars  may  represent  the  average  amount  the  borrower 
has  the  use  of  for  one  year,  but  ;^ioo  represents  the 
amount  of  credit  extended.  The  cost  of  the  loan,  there- 
fore, is  synonymous  with  the  cost  of  the  credit  extended, 
and  the  inquiry  should  not  be  what  it  costs  for  the  use 
of  $47  for  the  average  period  of  one  year,  but  what  it 


LYNCHBURG  COMPANY  S  OFFICE 

53 


LYNCHBURG    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 


costs  to  obtain  credit  for  ^loo.  On  this  basis  the  cost 
has  been  explained  above. 

The  discussion  becomes  merely  academic  when  the 
subject  is  considered  from  the  broad  viewpoint  of  accom- 
modation afforded,  and  the  character  of  the  small  loan 
business.  To  determine  the  rate  of  interest  he  pays 
on  his  loan  of  $100,000,  the  merchant  seldom  computes 
interest  at  six  per  cent,  on  his  cash  balance  maintained 
to  justify  the  credit. 

These  figures  do  not  take  into  consideration  the  inves- 
tigating fee,  which  covers  the  actual  cost  of  investigation, 
and  which  corresponds  to  the  charge  made  by  trust  com- 
panies for  investigating  the  value  and  title  of  real  estate 
or  other  collateral  offered  as  security  for  a  loan.  No  fee 
exceeding  $1  for  each  $50  loaned  and  no  fee  exceeding  $s 
in  all  is  charged;  and  no  fee  is  received  unless  the  loan  is 
made,  the  company  assuming  the  risk  and  expense  of  in- 
vestigating those  loans  which  are  not  granted. 


54 


As  to  tlic  rate  tor  small  loans  which  "independent 
commercial  agencies"  may  reasonably  charge,  Mr.  John 
M.  Glenn,  General  Director  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foun- 
dation, declares  that,  owing  to  the  relative  costliness 
of  the  necessary  investigation,  "such  agencies  must 
charge  from  twice  to  four  times  the  ordinary  commer- 
cial rates  for  loans. " 


NASHVILLE    COMPANY  S    OFFICE 


55 


FEATURES  OF  MORRIS  PLAN  INSTITUTIONS  THAT 
ATTRACT  THE  CONSERVATIVE  INVESTOR 

First:  Morris  Plan  loan  and  investment  companies, 
operating  independently  throughout  the  country,  enter 
upon  a  virgin  field.  Their  loans  are  made  to  an  army 
of  industrial  workers  at  present  without  credit  facilities. 
The  result  is  that  this  business  to-day  is  virtually  with- 
out competition,  save  from  the  loanshark — a  pest 
which  the  whole  country  is  interested  in  suppressing. 
No  expensive  advertising  is  required  and  the  business 
comes  to  the  bank  unsolicited,  whereas  other  financial 
institutions  must  engage  in  keen  competition  with 
progressive  rivals. 

Second:  The  cost  of  establishing  a  Morris  Plan 
company  is  almost  nominal,  as  the  institution  is  not 
burdened  with  the  outlay  usually  incident  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  new  business,  whether  financial  or  mercan- 
tile. It  does  not  require  the  usual  expenditure  of  capital 
for  expensive  buildings,  handsome  office  furniture  and 
fixtures,  or  heavy  stocks  of  merchandise. 

Third:  A  Morris  Plan  institution  is  free  from  the 
heavy  operating  expenses  incident  to  so  many  lines  of 
business.  It  is  without  varied  departments,  and  con- 
fines its  operations  to  a  single  line  of  business  that  is 
handled  by  a  few  officers  and  clerks.  It  requires  no 
large-salaried  executives  or  other  highly  paid  officers. 
With  $100,000  capital  it  can  operate  successfully,  as 
demonstrated  by  experience,  at  an  annual  expense  not 
exceeding  three  per  cent,  of  its  gross  business. 

Fourth:  Morris  Plan  institutions  invest  all  their 
funds  in  loans  that  are  becoming  more  secure  each  week 
at  the  rate  of  two  per  cent,  of  the  amount  loaned.  They 
take  no  risks  incident  to  investment  in  securities  or  real 

s6 


estate.  They  have  no  occasion  to  carry  large  sums  of 
idle  money,  as  other  financial  institutions  do,  and  are 
not  forced  to  loan  their  funds  at  low  rates,  on  call. 

Fifth:  Morris  Plan  institutions,  being  in  no  man- 
ner speculative,  forego  the  probability  of  profit  rather 
than  incur  the  possibility  of  loss.  They  avoid  the 
accumulation  of  idle  funds  by  inserting  in  their  invest- 
ment certificates  the  right  to  redeem  them  from  the 
hands  of  the  holders  on  thirty  days'  notice,  so  that  a 
balance  may  be  kept  between  the  demands  for  loans 
and  the  funds  on  hand. 

Sixth:     Having  no  deposits,  they  are  "run  j^roof. " 

Seventh:  They  are  operated  on  the  principle  that 
"character  is  the  basis  of  credit";  that  if  a  man  be  of 
good  character  and  can  find  two  persons  of  equally  good 
character  to  endorse  his  note,  he  is  entitled  to  credit, 
based  upon  his  earning  capacity,  as  clearly  as  is  the 
more  jirosperous  business  man,  the  discounting  of 
whose  paper  has  brought  prosperity  to  many  of  our 
great  financial  institutions. 

Eighth:  Usually  when  the  man  of  means  gives  aid 
to  the  less  fortunate,  there  is  little  likelihood  of  the 
return  of  his  funds.  The  purchaser  of  the  capital 
stock  or  the  certificates  of  investment  of  a  Morris  Plan 
company  not  only  contributes  to  the  relief  successively 
of  hundreds  of  worthy  self-respecting  citizens  on  a 
scientific  business  basis,  and  stimulates  ai)preciation 
of  character  as  essential  to  credit,  but  also  secures 
an  investment  from  which  satisfactory  return  on  cajiital 
is  assured. 

The  development  of  The  Morris  IMan  of  industrial 
loans  and  investments  is  one  of  the  most  important 
economic  and  industrial  movements  that  have  been 
organized  in  this  country  for  years.      The  Plan  has  been 

S7 


most  highly  commended  by  the  daily,  weekly,  and 
monthly  press  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  by  a  lead- 
ing English  newspaper.  Some  of  the  foremost  men  in 
the  country  have  investigated  it  and  are  giving  financial 
and  moral  support  to  the  effort  to  make  it  a  nation- 
wide success.  Important  men  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  have  become  interested  in  the  movement,  and 
are  Directors  of  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation 
or  of  local  Morris  Plan  companies.  No  enterprise  of 
recent  date  has  a  more  valid  reason  for  its  existence,  or 
promises  larger  benefit  to  the  great  body  of  the  Ameri- 
can people. 

Although  founded  on  business  principles.  The  Morris 
Plan  produces  an  important  sociological  result.  By 
extending  credit  in  timeof  need  to  people  of  small  means, 
it  lightens  many  a  burden.  By  converting  thousands 
of  borrowers  into  property-holders,  and  by  encouraging 
thrift,  it  exerts  a  material  influence  on  the  good  citizen- 
ship of  a  community.  The  nation-wide  extension  of  the 
Plan  cannot  fail  to  lessen  current  dissatisfaction  with 
existing  conditions  and  to  quiet  appreciably  social 
unrest.  The  Morris  Plan,  wherever  operated,  promotes 
a   better  understanding  between   Labor   and   Capital. 

It  is  a  business  foundation  deserving  the  coopera- 
tion and  support  of  thoughtful  citizens. 


S8 


PUBLIC   LOBBY 
THE    MORRIS    PLAN    COMPANY    OF    NEW    YORK 

THE  MORRIS  PLAN  COMPANY  OF  NEW  YORK 

From  the  moment  Ihe  Morris  Plan  was  first  put 
into  operation,  it  was  recognized  that  the  greatest 
service  it  could  render,  and  the  severest  test  it  could 
be  put  to.  would  be  experienced  when  it  was  applied  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  This  was  the  goal  its  originator 
had  in  view  from  the  first.  But  it  was  nearly  five 
years  from  the  day  the  Norfolk  Company  began  busi- 
ness when  The  Morris  Plan  Company  of  New  York,  on 
December  31,  1914,  opened  its  doors  to  the  hundreds  of 
applicants  whose  inquiries  had  been  |)ouring  iti  during 
the  period  of  its  formation. 

Stimulated  by  unsolicited  newspaj)er  notices  (un- 
sought, because  it  was  foreseen  that  no  advertisement 
was  needed  to  bring  to  its  doors  as  man\  borrowers  as 
it   could   care   for  at   the   start),    the   noii-nionied   but 

59 


credit-worthy  class  came  in  great  numbers  to  No.  52 
William  Street,  where  the  local  company  had  sublet  a 
part  of  the  premises  of  the  national  Corporation.  A 
few  days  sufficed  to  show  the  inadequacy  of  its  quar- 
ters;and  within  a  fortnight  of  its  opening  itwas  necessary 
to  establish  an  application  bureau  at  No.  37  Liberty 
Street,  to  handle  the  crowds  of  would-be  borrowers. 

Up  to  June  30,  1915,  seven  thousand  applications 
for  loans  had  been  considered  and  2,444  loans  actually 
made,  aggregating  ^296,315  and  averaging  $121.24. 
To  do  this  volume  of  business  on  a  subscribed  capital 
of  only  $100,000  and  a  surplus  of  $10,000,  the  Company 
sold  $24,000  of  its  full-paid  five  per  cent.  (Class  "B") 
investment  certificates  and  $11,650  of  its  instalment 
(Class  "C")  certificates  and  borrowed  $85,000  at  current 
rates  of  interest.     Its  authorized  capital  will  eventually 


INTERIOR    OFFICE 
THE    MORRIS    PLAN    COMPANY    OF    NEW    YORK 

60 


be  increased  to  )^i,ooo,ooo,  and  steps  are  being  taken 
to  obtain  subscriptions  for  the  full  amount.  Even 
with  this  sum  in  hand,  it  will  be  possible  to  care  for 
only  a  part  of  the  small-loan  business  of  New  York. 
The  demand  for  such  loans,  on  The  Morris  Plan,  would 
seem,  indeed,  to  be  virtually  unlimited.  By  far  the 
greater  part  of  it  is  wholly  legitimate,  and  the  local 
company  has  received  many  proofs  of  the  sociological 
value  of  the  service  rendered  to  its  patrons,  not  only  by 
lending  money  on  fair  terms,  but  by  securing  the  can- 
cellation or  reduction  of  the  claims  of  money-lenders 
who  have  transgressed  the  law. 

A  very  large  number  of  the  loans  thus  far  made 
have  been  of  a  remedial  character.  This  may  be  seen 
by  reading  the  statistics  of  the  Company's  business 
presented  on  page  63.  And  there  may  be  seen,  also, 
the  extent  to  which  the  service  of  the  Com[)any  has 
been  sought  by  emj)loyees  of  the  City,  the  County,  the 
State  and  the  National  Government,  as  well  as  by 
t(Mlers  of  the  purely  industrial  class. 

Among  the  stockholders  and  directors  of  The  Morris 
Plan  Company  of  New  York  are  many  of  the  most 
representative  business  men  of  the  city,  who  serve  in 
the  same  spirit  (as  President  Towne  has  expressed  it) 
in  which  they  would  serve  on  the  directorate  of  a 
savings-bank.  The  Officers  and  Directors  are  as  follows: 

OFFICKRS 

Henry   R.    Iowne President 

Herbert  L.  Satterlee Vice-President 

Clark  Wu-LIams X'ice- President 

Charles  H.  Sabin Treasurer 

Wallace  D.  McLean        (icncral  Manager 

B.  F.  Boos        Assistant  Secretary 

61 


DIRECTORS 

Frederic  W.  Allen,  Messrs.  Lee,  Higginson  &  Co.;  Director, 
Mechanics  &  Metals  National  Bank. 

William  D.   Baldwin,   President,  Otis  Elevator  Co. 

George  F.  Canfield,  Messrs.  Satterlee,  Canfield  &  Stone;  Vice- 
President  State  Charities  Aid  Association. 

Thomas  Cochran,  President,  Liberty  National  Bank;  Director, 
Astor  Trust  Co. 

Raymond  Du  Puy,  President,  Virginian  Railway  Company. 

Lewis  B.  Gawtry,  Vice-President,  Consolidated  Gas  Company 
of  New  York. 

Thomas  H.  Gillespie,  Vice-President  and  Director,  T.  A. 
Gillespie  Co. 

Richard  T.  H.  Halsey,  Chairman  Finance  Committee,  New 
York  Stock  Exchange. 

Edwin  O.  Holter,  Messrs.  Holter,  Ingalls  &  Guthrie,  Attorneys. 

Sam  a.  Lewisohn,  Messrs.  Adolph  Lewisohn  &  Sons. 

John  R.  MacArthur,  Messrs.  MacArthur  Brothers,  General 
Contractors. 

John  Markle,  President,  G.  B.  Markle  Co.,  Anthracite  Coal 
Operators. 

Arthur  J.  Morris,  Messrs.  Morris,  Garnett  &  Gotten,  Originator 
of  The  Morris  Plan. 

Jason  A.  Neilson,  with  Messrs.  Brown  Brothers  &  Company; 
ex-President,  N.  Y.  Chapter  American  Institute  of  Banking. 

James  E.  Russell,  Dean  of  Teachers'  College,  New  York. 

Charles  H.  Sabin,  President,  Guaranty  Trust  Company  of  New 
York. 

Theodore  P.  Shonts,  President,  Interborough  Rapid  Transit 
Company. 

Willard  Straight,  Banker;  President,  American  Asiatic  Asso- 
ciation. 

Lionel  Sutro,  Treasurer  and  Director,  Cathedral  Realty  Co. 

Henry  R.  Towne  (President),  Chairman,  Yale  &  Towne  Mfg. 
Co.;  ex-President,  Merchants  Association;  Director,  Federal 
Reserve  Bank,  New  York  District. 

Guy  E.  Tripp,  Chairman  Board  of  Directors,  Westinghouse 
Electric  &  Manufacturing  Co. 

William  Turnbull,  Retired  Banker. 

Malcolm  D.  Whitman,  William  Whitman  Co.,  Inc. 

Arthur  Williams,  General  Inspector,  New  York  Edison  Com- 
pany. 

Clark  Williams  (Vice-President),  ex-Superintendent  of  Banks 
and  ex-Comptroller  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Charles  T.  Wills,  Builder;  Director,  Garfield  National  Bank. 

62 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  MORRIS  PLAN  COMPANY  OF  NEW 

YORK  FROM  THE  OPENING  D.\\\  DECEMBER 

31,  IV14,  TO  rHE  CLOSE  OF  JiUSINESS 

ON  JUNE  30,  191 5 


Jan.-Feb.    |    Mch.-Apl. 


Total 


Amount  loaned )?6i,78o  ^^111,300   {^123, 235     $296,315 

Borrowers 509  919  1,016  2,444 

Average $121.38     $121.25      $121.29       $121.24 

On  July  I  there  were  but  twenty-five  weekly  payments  delin- 
quent for  more  than  one  week. 

All  Loans  Made  hy  Fhe  Morris  Plan  Company  of  New  York 
to  June  30,  191 5: 


Sieof  Loan 

Number  of 
Loans 

Aggregate 
Amount 

Size  of  Loan 
$200 

Number  of 
Loans 

AggrcKatc 
Amount 

$2,CXX) 

I 

$2,000 

242 

$48,400 

1,400 

I 

1,400 

175 

4 

700 

1,000 

5 

5,000 

150 

243 

36,450 

750 

I 

750 

125 

22 

2,750 

700 

1 

700 

100 

1.037 

103,700 

600 

6 

3,600 

80 

2 

ito 

525 

I 

525 

75 

66 

4.950 

500 

25 

12,500 

60 

3 

180 

450 

I 

450 

50 

631 

31.550 

400 

16 

6,400 

3!i 

I 

35 

350 

7 

2,450 

30 

3 

90 

300 

70 

21,000 

25 

14 

350 

250 

40 

10,000       , 

225       1 

— 

225 

1 

1 

_2'444 

$296,315 

BORROWERS 


Men 

WOmen 

Average  weekly  income. 

Married 

Single 

L'naccounred  for 

Supporting  children 

Numher  of  children 

Supporting  others 

Number  of  others 

Real-estate  owners 


Jan.-Feb. 

Mch.-Apl. 

May-June  1 

476 

870 

1 
976 

33 

49 

40 

$27.10 

$24.64 

$25.80 

396 

663 

756    ' 

113 

256 

251 

329 

H32 

382 

426 

84 


549 

1,526 
(>04 
674 
116 


9 
616 

1.574 
685 
776 

159 


Tot.il 

2,322 

122 

$25.83 

1,815 

620 

9 
1,494 

3^')32 

1 ,67 1 

1,876 

359 


63 


REASONS  FOR  BORROWING 


Repay  loansharks 

Repay  loans  on  pawns  and 

chattels 

Miscellaneous  debts 

Illness  and  births 

Deaths 

Household  expenses 

Tuition 

Begin  business 

Business  expansion 

Purchase  of  home 

Mortgage  and  interest 

Taxes 

Rent 

Insurance  premiums 

Begin  housekeeping 

Wedding 

Help  relatives 

Miscellaneous 


Jan.-Feb.     Mch.-Apl.     May-June 


70 
20 

[86 
95 
15 
24 

8 

3 
49 

4 
14 
13 

8 

9 
4 

2 

5 
9 


73 

29 

255 
116 

13 

48 

25 

15 

160 

9 
16 

25 
10 
II 
6 
6 
26 
64 


29 

23 
229 
198 
31 
49 
22 

17 
163 

8 

30 
36 
10 

23 
5 
8 

30 
97 


Total 


172 

72 
670 
409 

59 
121 

55 
35 
372 
21 
60 

74 
28 

43 
15 
16 
61 
170 


CLASSIFICATION  ACCORDING  TO  EMPLOYMENT 


Jan.-Feb.     Mch.-Apl.     May-June 


Total 


U.  S.  Government 

New  York  City 

New  York  County 

New  York  State 

Manufacturing 

Mercantile 

Financial 

Insurance 

Newspapers 

Railroads 

Steamship  companies.  .  . . 

Express 

Telegraph  and  telephone  . 

Oil  companies 

Real-estate 

Contracting  and  building. 

Warehousing 

Grocery 

Tailoring 

Printing  and  publishing.. 


78 

155 

4 

3 

32 

88 

19 

27 

25 

13 

2 


no 

193 

7 

7 

118 

109 

36 

23 

51 

24 

5 

7 

II 

3 

5 
5 
2 

13 

22 

19 


165 

205 

10 

7 
96 
92 

28 

25 
70 

33 
4 
4 

13 
4 

12 

18 
8 

19 

18 

33 


353 

553 

21 

17 

246 

289 

83 

75 

146 

70 

II 

19 

32 

9 

22 

31 
II 

32 
40 
52 


64 


CLASSIFICATION  ACCORDING  TO  EMPLOYMENT— Con/in«^</ 


Public  Utilities 

Stationery 

Rtstaurant 

Mtdicinc  and  surgery. 

No  Inisint'ss 

Miscellaneous 


ftn.-Feb. 

Mch.-Apl. 

May-June 

Total 

20 

22 

42 

10 

10 

9 

8 

9 
8 

3 
28 

8 
121 

5 
98 

16 
247 

509 

919 

1,016 

2,444 

POSITIONS  OR  OCCUPATIONS  OF  BORROWERS 

I    Jan.-Feb.  {  Mch.-Apl.  I  May-June 


Total 


Clerks 61 

Post-Office  employees 50 

Other  U.  S.  employees 1 1 

State  department  and  court 

employees 9 

City  department  and  court 

employees 30 

N.  Y.  County  employees.  ...  4 

Fire  Department 55 

Police  Department 27 

Proprietors  and  partners  ....  35 

Managers 18 

Secretaries  and  stenographers  10 

Foremen 6 

Agents 4 

Salesmen 23 

Factory  operators 

Machinists 10 

Inspectors 8 

Tailors 13 

.Artisans 3 

Pressmen,  compositors,  etc  ..  12 

Teachers 6 

Doctors  and  dentists 2 

Writers 3 

Telegraphers  and  despatchers  3 

Bookkeepers  and  accountants  9 

Conductors 

Miscellaneous 97 

509 


92 

35 

7 

61 

69 
40 
167 
22 
18 
13 
14 
42 
46 

13 

16 

12 

II 

37 

7 

4 

6 

12 

22 

80 
919 


94 

247 

122 

245 

49 

95 

8 

24 

86 

^n 

10 

14 

74 

198 

47 

114 

142 

344 

27 

67 

16 

44 

21 

40 

15 

33 

48 

113 

35 

81 

II 

34 

9 

u 

H 

39 

10 

24 

59 

108 

5 

18 

9 

15 

6 

'5 

3 

18 

33 

64 

3 

3 

45 

222 

1,016 


2,444 


REPORTS  AND  RESOLUTIONS  OF  PUBLIC  BODIES 

Reports  and  Resolutions  with  reference  to  The 
Morris  Plan  have  been  adopted  by  the  following  organi- 
zations, and  copies  may  be  had  on  application  to  the 
Industrial  Finance  Corporation: 

Banking  Committee,  Board  of  Trade Springfield,  Mass. 

Committee,  Retail  Merchants  Association Nashville,  Tenn. 

Chamber  of  Commerce Atlanta,  Ga. 

Banking  Committee,  Chamber  of  Commerce Birmingham,  Ala. 

Finance  Committee,  Chamber  of  Commerce Seattle,  Wash. 

Banking  Committee,   Merchants  and   Manufacturers  Association, 

Baltimore,  Md. 

Committee,  Business  Men's  Club Memphis,  Tenn. 

Committee  of  Bankers  and  Merchants New  Haven,  Conn. 

Committee,   Chamber  of  Commerce Los  Angeles,   Cal. 

Committee  of  Bankers   and  Merchants South  Bend,  Ind 

STRIKING  COMMENDATIONS  BY  THE  PRESS 

The  following  brief  extracts  from  articles  on  The 
Morris  Plan  show  how  cordially  it  has  been  endorsed 
by  the  public  press.  Reprints  of  some  of  these  articles 
and  copies  of  any  of  them  may  be  had  on  application 
to  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation. 

A  most  promising  enterprise  of  sound,  lasting,  and  expanding 
beneficence.  .  .  .  The  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  will 
lend  only  for  actual  needs  and  on  reasonable  assurance  of  repay- 
ment. It  will  restrain  rather  than  tempt  borrowers,  and  will  seek 
to  aid  them  toward  better  conditions.  Another  benefit  planned 
by  the  Corporation  is  the  opportunity  to  invest  small  savings  at 
higher  returns  than  are  now  to  be  secured  with  safety,  thus  encour- 
aging thrift  and  building  up  a  basis  of  useful  credit. 

New  York   Times 

People  of  great  wealth  who  have  the  public  interest  at  heart 
could  not  do  a  better  thing  with  their  money  than  invest  it,  as  they 
are  doing,  in  the  new  financial  corporation.    Nezv  York  Evening  Mail 

The  practical  details  of  the  nation-wide  system  of  small  loans 
with  which  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  is  to  break  the  tooth 
of  usury,  are  as  commendable  as  is  the  general  spirit  of  the  under- 
taking. ...  It  should  become  a  vast  banking  scheme  among 
the  industrial  population,  serving  many  purposes  besides  war  upon 
the  loansharks.  New  York  Evening  Post 

66 


There  is  a  poor  way  to  tiRlit  usurious  loan  agents,  which  is  to 
rely  on  repressit)n  and  criminal  prosecution.  1  here  is  a  hetter 
way,  which  is  to  recoj;ni/e  that  the  Inisiness  of  turnishinfi;  small 
loans  is  Itjiitimate  ami  necessary,  and  to  try  to  render  that  service 
more  cheaply  and  cHicicntly.  One  way  always  fails;  the  other  may 
succeed.  The  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  is  to  try  the  right 
way.  .  .  .  To  furnish  poor  men  loans  without  unreasonahle 
charges,  and  to  aid  them  in  using  their  joint  credit  for  the  purpose, 
is  about  as  useful  a  task  as  intelligently  directed  capital  can  under- 
take. .  .  .  From  the  standpoint  of  a  person  having  money 
to  invest,  The  Morris  Plan  banks  afford  a  safe  and  profitable  oppor- 
tunity. Nnv  York  IV  or  Id 

We  have  here  a  loan  system  of  demonstrated  practicability, 
which  cannot  enmesh  the  poor,  which  preserves  the  self-respect  of 
its  patrons  and  supplies  them  with  every  legitimate  encouragement 
for  thrift.  I  here  is  no  reason  why  the  loanshark  should 

not  be  banished  entirely  by  this  new  and  better  credit  system. 

Philadflphia  Evening  Telegraph 

An  excellent  plan,  capable  of  wide  application. — Chicago  Herald 

The  banks  of  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  will  hll  a 
field  distinct  from  that  of  the  various  remedial  loan  associations 
which  have  been  organized  in  many  cities  to  fight  the  loanshark. 
These  loan  almost  entirely  on  chattels  and,  in  the  words  ot  the 
founders  of  the  new  corporation,  "do  not  touch  the  larger  field 
where  usury  continues  to  thrive."  The  Survey 

The  danger  and  cruelty  of  the  loanshark  business  have  long 
been  recognized  and  admitted  by  useful  citizens,  but  the  prohibi- 
tion of  the  business  solves  only  one  phase  of  the  problem. 

Washington  Evening  Star 

Every  city  needs  an  institution  of  this  kind. — The  Independent 

The  plan  is  not  one  of  charity,  but  of  aid  upon  good  business 
lines;  and  it  is  on  lines  which  promise  a  reasonable  profit  to  the 
capital  invested,  a  profit  in  which  the  borrower  is  invited  to  share 
through  the  interest-bearing  certificates  that  are  offered  to  him 
on  easy  terms.  Financial  Chronicle 

It  is  gratifving  to  note  that  so  many  bankers  of  national  reputa- 
tion are  activelv  participating  in  this  project.  Philanthropic  enter- 
prises are  all  right,  but  they  must  be  managed  on  business  principles, 
or  they  are  doomed  to  failure  from  the  start.  American  Banker 

We  are  rapidly  building  up  a  financial  and  banking  system  in 
this  country.  The  Federal  Reserve  Hanks,  land-credit  banks,  and 
the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation,  all  constitute  important  links 
of  the  chain.  The  Bankers'  Magazine 

67 


A  majority  of  the  owners  of  the  $7,000,000,000  lying  in  our  sav- 
ings banks  to-day  are  virtually  unable  to  borrow  money.  They 
may  spend  their  savings,  but  they  cannot  borrow  on  them.  Only 
in  a  few  favored  cities  can  they  turn  their  character  and  earning 
power  into  collateral.  New  York  Times  Annalist 

There  are  millions  of  people  old  enough  and  productive  enough 
to  have  a  bank  account  who  know  nothing  about  what  banks  can 
do  for  them.  The  Morris  Plan  meets  them  more  than  half  way. 
It  does  this  not  only  by  making  loans  to  an  industrious  person 
whose  character  and  credit  is  vouched  for  by  two  fellow  citizens, 
but  it  does  something  more- — it  develops  its  borrowers  into  de- 
positors and  investors,  making  them  not  only  the  employers  of 
capital  but  the  sources  of  capital  supply  and  the  promoters  of 
social  welfare.  This  plan  spells  a  funeral  to  the  loanshark  busi- 
ness. Wall  Street  Journal 

There  is  a  real  need  for  some  agency  which  will  furnish  to 
employees  loans  based  on  their  salaries,  but  at  reasonable  rates. 

Dry  Goods  Economist 

Those  who  constitute  the  organization  committee,  those  who 
are  supporting  its  efforts,  and  those  who  are  announced  as  directors 
of  the  Corporation,  include  representatives  of  finance  and  business 
interests  whose  character  and  standing  are  beyond  all  question. 

New  York  Journal  of  Commerce 

It  proposes  to  aid  in  uplifting  through  giving  a  firm  ground  to 
individual  exertions;  it  will  work  for  betterment,  not  for  pauper- 
izing. Insurance  {New  York) 

Nothing  can  supply  a  greater  need  of  the  times.   Rochester  Herald 

There  has  been  organized  in  the  city  of  New  York  a  financial 
institution  of  a  novel  character,  destined  to  bring  banking  facilities 
within  the  reach  of  thousands  of  Americans  to  whom  such  facilities 
have  hitherto  been  denied.  .  .  .  Only  those  who  know  some- 
thing about  the  practices  of  the  loansharks  can  appreciate  the  legit- 
imate need  of  a  bank  prepared  to  lend  money  on  an  ordinary  com- 
mercial basis  to  the  small  borrower.  The  Outlook 

There  is  room — there  is  a  crying  need — for  a  similar  institution 
in   every   city  of  one  hundred  thousand   inhabitants  or  over. 

The  American  Magazine 

The  Morris  Plan  is  based  absolutely  on  sound  business.  It 
fills  the  gap  which  has  existed  between  the  banks  and  trust  compa- 
nies on  one  hand  and  the  philanthropic  chattel-mortgage  companies 
on  the  other.  Business  America 

68 


Hosts  of  testimonials  as  to  the  system's  i<.clin.ing  tlu-  loaiishark 
evil  conif  from  cities  wluTt-  such  institutions  have  been  founded. 

Nezv  York  Globe 

It  is  to  meet  the  necessity  of  honowinj;  that  honest  and  indus- 
trious men  are  st)metimes  subject  to,  and  save  them  from  the  grip 
of  loan-sharpers  and  money-sharks.         Huston  I'yirnini^  Transcript 

1  he  Industrial  linance  Corporation  has  a  wide  held  ot  useful- 
ness. The  Youth's  Companion 

There  was  a  need  in  the  social  state,  of  which  the  loansharks 
took  advantage,  that  is  now  to  be  met  sensibly  and  in  a  fashion  to 
advantage  both  the  borrower  and  the  lender.  This  is  a  good  busi- 
ness and  a  distinct  aid  to  citizenship.  Springfield  Republican 

There  is  need  in  every  community  for  such  a  bank. 

Hartford  Post 

If  this  plan  works  out  as  demonstrated  by  comparatively  short 
experience,  there  can  be  no  harm  in  benefiting  the  lender  as  well 
as  the  borrower.  The  main  thing  is  that  a  systematic  effort,  under 
intelligent  management,  is  making  to  lift  unfortunate  borrowers 
out  of  the  trouble  they  sink  into  when  the  sharks  get  after  them. 

Hartford  C  our  ant 

After  a  thorough  investigation  of  The  Morris  Plan  by  the 
bankers  and  business  men  of  the  city,  it  has  been  decided  that  such 
an  institution  would  be  a  great  benefit.  Nezv  Haven  Union 

The  enterprise  is  not  a  charity,  but  expects  to  pay  annual  divi- 
dends of  six  per  cent.  .  .  .  This,  in  our  estimation,  is  one  of 
its  most  admirable  features.  It  stamps  the  venture  as  economic, 
and  upon  economic  foundations  alone  can  be  built  structures  of 
lasting  and  uplifting  helpfulness.        Philadelphia  North  American 

The  project  commends  itself  to  all  who  have  at  heart  the  welfare 
of  the  deserving  man  in  need.  Milwaukee  News 

The  plan  has  worked  successfully.  Philadelphia  Press 

1  he  new  institution  is,  happily,  not  of  the  avowed  philanthropic 
character.  It  does  not  give  something  for  nothing.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  based  upon  good  business  principles.      St.  Louis  Times 

A  distinct  advance  in  civilization,  which — it  is  to  be  hoped — 
has  come  to  stay.  Augusta  (Ga.)  Chronicle 

The  establishment  of  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation  means 
that  the  relief  extended  to  people  of  small  resources  in  Atlanta  is 
now  to  be  extended  to  people  in  the  same  class  the  country  over. 
The  importance  of  that  benefaction  cannot  be  over-estimated. 

Atlanta  Constitution 

69 


If  this  does  not  succeed  in  putting  the  loansharks  out  of  busi- 
ness wherever  these  banks  are  established,  the  attempt  might  as 
well  be  given  up  and  the  shark  accepted  as  a  permanent  institution. 

Omaha  World-Herald 

The  loanshark  will  be  driven  out  of  business  only  when  he  is 
confronted  with  competition  which  meets  him  on  his  own  ground 
and  advances  money  at  reasonable  rates.  Providence  Journal 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  scheme  is  entirely  sound  and  prac- 
tical. The  Chatitauqua7i 

The  principles  of  the  plan  have  been  long  tested  in  Germany, 
Austria  and  Italy.  It  means  a  new  line  of  battle  against  the  loan- 
sharks.  Chicago  Nezc's 

Seems  to  be  the  ideal  solution  for  the  elimination  of  the  loan- 
shark.  Colorado  Springs  Gazette 

The  need  of  such  an  institution  is  so  obvious  as  to  be  universally 
admitted.  Manchester  (N.  H.)  Leader 

The  system  has  been  demonstrated  to  be  practicable.  It  pre- 
serves the  self-respect  of  its  patrons  and  supplies  them  with  every 
legitimate  encouragement  to  thrift.  Albany  Press 

The  social  and  moral  effect  of  this  plan  has  a  definite  value  in 
the  progress  of  the  community.  Industrial  Outlook 

The  project  is  one  that  will  be  of  vast  benefit  to  this  community. 

South  Bend  {Ind.)  Tribune 

The  Morris  Plan  of  loaning  money  to  the  small  borrower  is  a 
direct  smash  at  the  loanshark.  South  Beyid  {Ind.)  News-Times 

The  possibilities  for  social  benefit  and  also  for  increased  business 
in  this  great,  untapped  field  of  credit,  are  incalculable. 

Richmond  Virginian 

The  Morris  Plan  Bank  has  a  soul  of  its  own  and  sees  beyond 
money  as  a  single  source  of  character.  .  .  .  The  warmth 
and  glow  which  this  vision  of  banking  introduces  into  the  general 
scheme  of  financial  indulgence  should  in  time  soften  a  bit  the  vision 
of  the  conventional  bank,  and  perform  a  service  which  cannot  but 
help  to  raise  very  greatly  local  standards  of  civic  honor  and  content. 

Nezv  Haven  Journal-Courier 

If  prudently  and  honestly  managed,  these  "poor  men's  banks" 
will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  wage-earners,  helping  many  a  strug- 
gling man  over  a  hard  place,  and  saving  him  from  the  clutches  of 
the  loansharks  and  pawnbrokers.  Montreal  Nezvs 

70 


The  Morris  Plan  is  no  longer  an  txptrnncnt.  It  has  hchnid  it 
a  great  and  growing  good-will,  and  its  mechanism  is  so  extremely 
simple  that  it  lends  itself  readily  to  village  and  also  to  town  hanking. 
Is  it  not  possihie  that  presently  we  may  get  a  Parlia- 
ment that  will  Hnd  time  to  discuss  a  safe,  saiu-  and  State-assisted 
scheme  on   the   lines  of    The   Morris   IMan? 

More-ton  Frr:cc-n,  in  London  Morning  Post 

This  is  a  straight  husiness  venture.  It  is  not  philanthropy  on 
the  part  of  the  stockhoKlers  of  the  company,  nor  charity  to  the 
horrowers.  Nevertheless,  it  is  one  of  the  hest  and  surest  ways  yet 
discovered  to  rid  the  community  of  the  loanshark. 

New    York    Tribune 

The  Nemesis  of  loansharks.  Nt':i'  York  Herald 

It  is  a  system  of  hanking  which  does  for  the  small  horrowcr 
what  the  Federal  Reserve  Plan  does  for  the  great  commercial  and 
financial  interests  of  the  nation.  Albany  Argus 

Has  already  heen  successfully  tried  in  a  dozen  states. 

Publishers'    Weekly 

1  he  moral  of  these  Morris  Plan  Companies  is  that  there  is  need 
and  room  in  every  community  for  a  hank  where  the  small  horrower 
can  ohtain  help,  with  his  character  and  integrity  as  assets. 

Minneapolis    Journal 

To  the  man  of  moderate  means,  the  toiler  whose  daily  wage 
attracts  no  attention  from  the  income  ta.x  collector,  the  spread  of 
the  Morris  hanks  is  of  more  interest  than  any  recent  development 
in  .American  commercial  circles.  .  .  .  Ihe  success  of  the  enter- 
prise and  its  future  growth  should  he  of  great  interest  to  those  w  ho 
are  trying  to  bring  equal  business  privileges  to  all  social  classes. 

Epzvorth  Herald 

If  this  does  not  succeed  in  putting  the  loansharks  out  of  busi- 
ness, the  attempt  might  as  well  be  given  up  and  the  shark  accepted 
as  a   permanent  institution.  Omaha   fVorld-Herald 

DIRECT  TESTIMONY 

Copies  of  letters  from  the  officers  of  Morris  Plan 
institutions,  appreciative  testimonials  from  their  cus- 
tomers, and  disinterested  opinions  expressed  to  inves- 
tigating committees  may  he  seen  on  application  to  the 
Industrial  Finance  Corporation,  52  William  Street, 
New  York. 

71 


DIRECTORS  of  MORRIS  PLAN  COMPANIES 


Albany,  N.  Y. — The  Morris  Plan  Company  of  Albany 


Hildreth  J.  Ackroyd 
William  L.  Austin 
Walter  W.  Batchelder 
John  A.  Becker 
Horace  S.  Bell 
Ledyard  Cogswell,  Jr. 
James  C.  Farrell 
Malcolm  S.  Fearey 
Frank  B.  Gilbert 
Frank  C.  Herrick 
Samuel  Hessberg 


Thomas  Hun 
Edward  J.  Hussey 
Henry  H.  Kohn 
Fred  E.  Linder 
Wm.  T.  Mayer 
Donald  McDonald 
G.  William  McEwan 
Jonas  Muhlfelder 
William  J.  Mullin 
S.  Lyman  Munson,  Jr. 
Russell  E.  Sard 


Francis  A.  Shields 
John  K.  Spender 
Alfred  J.  Sporborg 
George  W.  Stedman 
Luther  H.  Tucker 
Thomas  L  Van  Antwerp 
James  R.  Watt 
James  A.  Wendell 
William  A.  Wheeler 
*Chas.  L.  A.  Whitney 
Clark  Williams 


Atlanta — Atlanta  Loan  &  Saving  Company 


C.  B.  Bidwell 
John  A.  Brice 
J.  Epps  Brown 
Joseph  F.  Burke 
E.  C.  Callaway 
H.  R.  Durand 
Leon  Eplan 
R.  E.  George 


Thomas  K.  Glenn 
Francis  E.   Kamper 
V.  H.  Kriegshaber 
J.  Fred  Lewis 
Joseph  C.  Logan 
Brooks  Morgan 
C.  P.  Murphy 
F.  J.  Paxon 


J.  Carroll  Payne 
H.  N.  Randolph 
T.  R.  Sawtell 
Philip  Weltner 
R.  W.  Wessels 
*W.  Woods  White 
John  A.  Whitner 
B.  L.  WiUingham 


Baltimore — Mutual  Loan  Company 


Henry  F.  Baker 
Fred  A.  Dolfield 
E.  Edmunds  Foster 
*C.  L  T.  Gould 
Frank  H.  Gunther 


Paul  G.  L.  Hilken 
John  J.  Kelly,  Jr. 
Harry  M.  Mason 
William  H.  Matthai 
C.  Wilbur  Miller 


Stuart  Olivier 
Aubrey  Pearre,  Jr. 
Carroll  W.  Rasin 
Redmond  C.  Stewart 
James    S.    Whedbee 


Bridgeport — The  Bridgeport  Morris  Plan  Company 


W.  R.  Bassick 
Nath'l  W.  Bishop 
Fred'k  C.  Blanchard 
Arthur  W.  Burritt 
David  S.  Day 
Harry  H.  DeLoss 
George  H.  Edwards 
Thos.  L.  Ellis,  M.D. 


Samuel  M.  Hawley 
Robert  S.  Hincks 
John  G.  Howland 
John  T.  King 
"Fred'k  J.  Kingsbury 
William  P.  Kirk 
Walter  B.  Lasher 
Egbert  Marsh 
Horace  B.  Merwin 


John  S.  Pullman 
Frederick  Rhodes 
Charles  G.  Sanford 
Ralph  Sanger 
Hamilton  S.  Shelton 
De  Ver  C.  Warner 
De  Ver  H.  Warner 
D.  Fairchild  Wheeler 


Charleston — Charleston  Fidelity  Corporation 


W.  S.  Allan 
G.  B.  Buell 
A.  J.  Buist,  M.D. 
J.  T.  Coleman 
W.  S.  Cook 
W.  L.  Douglas 
T.  J.  Hamlin 
*Tristram  T.   Hyde 
W.  S.  Lanneau 
C.  L.  Legerton 

♦President. 


W.  J.  Leonard 

L.  S.  Letellier 

D.  L.  Maquire,  M.  D. 

W.  H.  Mixson 

Leland  Moore 

W.  A.  Moore 

T.  W.  Passailaigue 

J.  S.  Pinkussohn 

H.  E.  Raines 

R.  C.  Richardson 

72 


A.  R.  Rugheimer 

P.  S.  Sanders 

Wm.  Schirmer 

E.   Mitchell   Seaboard 

Joseph  A.  Storfer 

J.  Henry  Stuhr 

W.  R.  Thompson 

W.  H.  Walsh 

J.  V.  Weston 

R.  W.  Whaley 


Columbia,  S.  C. —  I  he  Honitstcad  Bank 

Christie  Benet                    James  A.  Hovt  W.  M.  Perry 

R.  J.  Blalock                        Fitz  H.inh  MVMastcr  Robert  V.  Read 

Will  Evans                         *Robert  Moorman  H.  E.  Thompson 
H.   I  .  Patterson 

Denver — Economic  Loan  &  Investment  Company 

F"rank  j.  Akxamler             William  H.  Kistlcr  *Edwin  S.   Kassler 

Howard  F.  Crocker             Hiram   1.  I.amey  Frank  L.  Woodward 

Frank  K.  Kdbrooke             (k-orue  W.  CJano  Willis  F.  Wolff 

Hartford — Ihc  Hartford  Morris  Plan  Company 

D.  Newton  Barney               Frederick  W.  Davis  Joseph  H.  King 
*Louis  R.  Cheney                     George  R.  Ford  Shiras  Morris 

Chas.  Hopkins  Clark            Richard  J.  (loodman  Ralph  Sanyer 

Charles  B.  Cook                     \\  alter  L.  Cioodwin  (leor^e  (i.  \\  illiams 

Francis  R.  Cooler                  Thomas  Hewes  Isidore  Wise 

Ralph  W.  Cutler'  Daniel  M.  Wrinht 

Lynchburg,  Va. — Citizens  Savings  &  Loan  Corporation 

George  E.  Caskie                Don.  P.  Halsey  N.  B.  Handy 

John   W.   Craddock            Major.  S.  P.  Halsey  L.  Lazarus 

*David  Dreyfuss                   Richard  Hancock  Walter  Smith 

C.  M.  Guggcnheimer  John  Victor 

Memphis — Industrial  Bank  &  Trust  Company 

I.  D.  Block                          J.  Goldsmith  A.  R.  Porter.  M.  D. 

John  P.  Bullington           *R.  O.  Johnston  W.  L.  Robinson 

J.  N.  Cornatzar                   Thomas  B.  King  I.  Samelson 

E.  W.  Ford                          Joseph  B.  Kirby  F.  D.  Smvthe,  M.D. 

H.  H.  Litty 

Nashville — Morris  Bank  of  Nashville 

V.  J.  Alexander                   J.  T.  Jenkins  F.  P.  Provost 

Charles  Brower,  M.  D.       F.  E.  Kuhn  Paul  Roberts 

T.  A.  Clarkson                     J.  O.  Leake  ♦H.  L.  Sperry 

Nathan  Cohn                        E.  A.  Lindsey  O.  W.  Staley 

L.  F.  Davis                            Sol  Lowenstein  John  A    Sullivan 

John  P.  Frank                      Charles  S.   Mitchell  H.  Teitlebaum 

R.  H.  Huddleston               Joe  Morse  O.  J.  Timothy 

Lcland  Hume  H.  C.  Walters 

New  Haven — The  Nev^r  Haven  Morris  Plan  Company 

Howard  E.  Adt                      Wilson  H.  Lee  Louis  E.  Stoddard 
George  J.  Bassett                'John   T.  Manson  Lucius  S.  Storrs 
Frederick  1.  Bradley            .Arthur  J.  Morris  Ci.  F.  Thompson 
E.  G.  Buckland                       A.  Heaton  Robertson  Victor  M.  Tyler 
Eugene  De  Forest                  E.  P.  Root  Charles  M.  Walker 
Thomas  W.  Farnam             Ziegler  Sargent  W.  A.  Watts 
Thomas  M.  Steele 

•PreaidenU 

73 


New  York — The  Morris  Plan  Company  of  New  York 

Frederick  W.  Allen  Sam  A.  Lewisohn  Willard  Straight 

William  D.  Baldwin  John  R.  MacArthur  Lionel  Sutro 

George  F.  Canfield  John  Markle  *Henry  R.  Tovvne 

Thomas  Cochran  Arthur  J.  Morris  Guy  E.  Tripp 

Raymond  Du  Puy  Jason  A.  Neilson  William  Turnbull 

Lewis  B.  Gawtry  James  E.  Russell  Malcolm  D.Whitman 

Thomas  H.  Gillespie  Charles  H.  Sabin  Arthur  Williams 

Richard  T.  H.  Halsey  Theodore  P.  Shonts  Clark  Williams 

Edwin  0.  Holter  Charles  T.  Wills 


Norfolk — Fidelity  Savings  &  Trust  Company 

H.  T.  Campbell  T.  S.  Garnett  B.  B.  Mann 

J.  H.  Cofer  R.  R.  Hicks  Arthur  J.  Morris 

Raymond  Du  Puy  Charles  Hoofnagle  Max  Pincus 

O.  J.  Egerton  H.  M.  Kerr  Fergus  Reid 

*C.  H.  Ferrell  T.  J.  Latham,  Jr.  T.  S.  Southgate 

J.  D.  Levy 


Philadelphia — Pennsylvania  Loan  Company 

ThomasG.  Ashton,M.D.   John     Gribbel  Robert  McKenty 

A.  J.  Drexel  Biddle  Howard  H.  Henry  Harry  Nelke 

Samuel  M.  Curwen  *Louis  J.  Kolb  Thomas  Newhall 

Franklin   Spencer  Thomas  Martindale  Joseph  M.  Steele 

Edmonds  J.  R.  McAllister  W.    Plunket   Stewart 

William  L  Forbes  Arthur  J.  Morris  Charlton  Yarnall 


Portsmouth,  Va. — Industrial  Loan  Corporation 

F.  Nash  Bilisolv  E.  A.  Frink  B.  F.  Hofheimer 

Harry  A.  Brinkley  W.  A.  Hall  A.  B.  Jarvis 

J.  C.  Emmerson  W.  K.  Hodges  M.  F.  Parker 

J.  C.  Emmerson,  Jr.  *Charles  R.  Welton 


Richmond,  Va. — Fidelity  Loan  &  Savings  Company 

*John  Bagby  O.  J.  Sands  Charles  E.  Straus,  Jr. 

R.  H.  Bruce  Emmett  Seaton  T.  Garnett  Tabb 

W.  J.  Parrish  T.  S.  Winston 

St.  Louis — Industrial  Loan  Company 

Paul  Brown  F.  B.  Eiseman  Charles  Rebstock 

*James  Gay  Butler  Oscar  Johnson  A.  L.  Shapleigh 

W.  F.  Carter  W.  J.  Kinsella  M.  L.  Wilkinson 

Henry  L.  Cornet  George    D.    Markham  Thomas  Wright 

Hiram  Phillips 
•President. 

74 


Salisbl'RY — Salisbury  Morris  Plan  Company 

A.  H.  Bovdtn  lohn  S.  Henderson  I.  M.  Peeler 

R.  V.  Brawky  R.  C.  Jones  H.  A.  Roiizer 

Preston  S.  Cotten  J.  C  Kesler  H.  K.  Rufty 

\Vm.  C.  CouKhenour,  Jr.       \.  B.  McCanless  P.  H.  Thompson 

KerrCraige  I.  F.  McCiihhins  Walter  H.  Woodson 

♦j.  I).  Norwood 

South  Bknd — The  Morris  Plan  Company  of  South  Bend 

Sam  AdUr  *John  R.  H.lll^;luon  Samuel  Parker 

().  A.  Clark  A.  H.  Helkr  A.  K.  Peltz 

W.  ().  Davies  C.  r.  lierr  S.  D.  Rider 

John  K.  I)e  (;roote  W.  II.  Holland  R.  L.  Sensenick 

C  D.  Kmmons  II.  1).  Johnson  Sam  Spiro 

Harry  A.  Knuman,  Jr.  Horace  \.  Kimhie  C.  Studehaker,  Jr. 

C.  Fassnacht  Herbert  J.  Lederer  E.  J.   Twonuy 

D.  L.  Guilfovie                       Sam  Leeper  B.  S.  Walters 
(J.  W.  Harrison                     M.  W.  Mi.x  C.  C.  Ward 
(leor^e  .A.  Harrop                   Fred  (TBrien  Jos.  A.  Werwenski 

Springfield,  M.\ss. — Industrial  Loan  Company 

Ralph   P.  Alden  William  S.  L.  Hawkins  William  H.  SatReant 

Charles  H.  Beckwith  Harold  .A.  Ley  *Joseph   Shattuck 

John  W.  B.  Brand  (i.  Frank  Merriam  Eliphalet  T.  TiH't 

James  R.  Miller 

Springfield,  Ohio — The  Springfield  Morris  Plan  Comixiny 

W.  H.  Bitner  R.  W.  Hollenbeck  C.  L.  Nisley 

lohn  1.  Brvant  Ma.\  I,.  Kleeman  Flmore  P.  Ross 

♦John  I..  Bushnell  C.  F.  .MeCJilvray  P.  J.  Shouvlin 

Joseph  B.  Cartmell  .Allan  .Mc(ireKor  H.  S.  \\  illiams 

John  B.  Clinnerman  Warren  A.  Myers  George  \\  .  \\  mger 

Harry  E.  Freeman  Wilbur  J.  Myers  R.  A.  Worthington 

W  .\SHiNGTON — Fidelity  Savings  Company,  Inc. 

•Henry  P.  Blair  H.  D.  Johnson  Elie  Shcetz 

George    M.    Bowers  C.  C.  Mayer  Wm.  M.  Spriggs,  M.  1). 

F.  S.  Bright  George  M.  Peters  Judge  L.  C.  Strider 

H.  B.  Byrd,  Jr.  Nathan  B.  Scott  South    Trimble 

Charles  J.  Faulkner  Bates  Warren 

Worcester — The  Worcester  Morris  Plan  Company 

Charles  P.  .Adams  Homer  Gage,  M.D.  Wallace   T.  Morlev 

Charles  I.  Allen  Harry  W.  Goddard  Henry  P.  Murray' 

George  F.  Booth  Charles  H.  Hutchins  W.  H.  Sawyer.  Jr. 

Louis  H.  Buckley  Fred  K.  Linder  Frank  C.  Smith,  Jr. 

Chandler  Bullock  Charles  F.  Marble  Samuel  F).  Sptirr 

(leorge  Crompton  Clinton  Marshall  *Frederic  B.  Washburn 

Francis  H.  Dewey  Paul  B.  Morgan  Reginald  Washburn 

Frank  .A.  Drury  Burton  H.  Wright 


•President. 


75 


COMPANIES  in  PROCESS  of  ORGANIZATION 
Organization  Committees 

Columbus — The  Columbus  Morris  Plan  Company 


John  Y.  Bassell 
J.  V.  L.  Bonney 
Karl  E.  Burr 
J.  C.  Campbell 
Silvio  Casparis 
F.  A.  Davis 
E.  B.  Gager 


W.  A.  Grieves 
George  Gugle 
J.  B.  Hanna 
W.  A.  Hopkins 
F.  R.  Huntington 
Albert  Joyce 


L.    F.    Kiesewetter, 

Ch'm'n 
Paul  T.  Norton 
E.  A.  Reed 
E.  R.  Sharp 
George  T.  Spahr 
John  L.  Vance,  Jr. 


Fort  Wayne,  Ind. — The  Fort  Wayne  Morris  Plan  Company 


James  M.  Barrett 
Charles  G.  Beall 
Gustave  A.  BerghofF 
Albert  S.  Bond 
A.  S.  Bowser 
Frank  H.  Cutshall 


Harry  P.  Fletcher 
Samuel  M.  Foster 
W.  M.  Griffin 
Arthur  F.  Hall 
Martin  H.  Luecke 
S.  E.  Mulholland 


Van  B.  Perrine 
A.  A.  Serva 

Theodore  F.  Thieme,  Ch. 
W.  M.  Wardrop 
Theodore  Wentz 
Clinton  R.  Willson 


Providence — The  Morris  Plan  Company  of  Rhode  Island 


Richard  S.  Aldrich 
Arthur  M.  Allen 
John  O.  Ames 
G.  Ed.  Buxton,  Jr. 
Z.  Chafee 
W.  P.  Chapin,  Jr. 
Earl  S.  Colman 
Henry  B.  Cross 
C.  Coburn  Darling 
Paul  C.  DeWolf 


Michael  F.  Dooley 
John  P.  Farnsworth 
William  P.  Goodwin 
Theodore  Francis 
Green,  Ch'm'n 
Harold  J.  Gross 
Frank  L  Hinckley 
George  H.  Holmes 
Michael  J.  Houlihan 
James  R.  MacCoU 


Frank  W.  Matteson 
David  P.  Moulton 
Frank  N.  Phillips 
Abram  J.  Pothier 
Albert  E.  Potter 
Alfred  K.  Potter 
Everett  I.  Rogers 
Henry  D.  Sharpe 
William  H.  Waite 
Herbert  J.  Wells 


Waters URY — The  Waterbury  Morris  Plan  Company 


J.  Hobart  Bronson 
John  B.  Burrall 
Fred  S.  Chase 
Harry  S.  Chase 
Irving  H.  Chase 
John  A.  Coe,  Jr. 


Darragh  De  Lancey 
George  A.  Driggs 
John  P.  Elton 
Edward  O.  Goss 
John  H.  Goss 
Robert  F.  Griggs 


Arthur  R.  Kimball 
Truman  S.  Lewis 
George  Rockwell 
Archer  J.  Smith 
Charles  E.  Spencer,  Jr. 
Harris  Whittemore 


♦President. 


76 


REDFIELD 
KENDBICK 
ODELL  CO. 
NEW  YORK 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  EELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETTURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.00  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


NOV    B    1333 


NOV.    4    1933 


g^OV  ksMz 


=ti-T^ 


^-^ 


n^c  ^ 


tAAY    14  1946 


^PR  m  1947 


r^ljan'SUt^- 


ER-LIBRARY 


FEB  22  288! 


U.C.BERKEl£Y 


LD  21-100m-7,'33 


YD0B2( 


—  JtSJ 

332672 

.11 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRARY 


